Kismet
by hiddenshadowwolf
Summary: 2014 Sans-April AU. I was thinking one day about what the movie might have been like without Vern. But then I realized.. He played an important part at the end. Without him April very well might have been shot and killed. How would that have affected the boys? A different spin on the SLOWBURN fan-insert romance/adventure story, heavy on the fluff
1. Prologue

**Preface: This story has been building up over a long time and I acknowledge that it needs a LOT of editing. However, this story has a huge arc that is eventually going to be a trilogy and I either need to spend my time editing or putting down the storyline. And for now, storyline is taking precedence over editing. So I apologize for the rough start and the long monologues in the early chapters but I do promise that I will get to editing as soon as I get the storyline down. The book is listed as Complete because there will be no more chapter additions, but it's incomplete in its editing.**

**Now, to begin the story.**

* * *

Billowing layers of airy white silk flowed in the wind amid dense rows of lavender roses, the twittering of small songbirds filling the fragrant air with music. The old woman wearing the flowing dress stood straight and tall, wispy strands of pure white hair blowing against paper thin skin. She waited with unending patience for whatever it was that awaited her next, a slight rustling behind her causing her to turn her head only a few degrees in acknowledgement.

"Mistress, there is an intruder who means to take your life! We must take you quickly to the sanctuary before he finds you!" The priest's tone was urgent, pleading, it the soft upturn of ancient lips didn't have any intention of heeding the warning.

"Jakiel, if you please, will you prepare a warm meal for myself and our guest? Take it to the heart of the garden, my favorite place, and please prepare some rose hip tea to go with it."

"But… But Mistress!"

"Jakiel." The woman turned and upon seeing the face of the goddess he had dedicated his life to serving his head bowed respectfully. But the old woman only shook her head fondly and stepped towards him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "My guitar as well, if you would be so kind."

Reluctantly, but respectfully, he lowered himself just a little bit more to the ground in a deeper bow to the woman. "Yes, my lady."

And so he departed, taking a few staff members with him to quickly make the preparations. As soon as the gentleman was gone the ancient woman began to walk the winding path. Her steps were measured and unhurried, the ethereal woman even taking the time to pause at her favorite flower bushes to pick a few blossoms to take with her to lunch. She knew that the kind people who spent so much of their time dedicated to her took great pride in their work and it couldn't hurt to make sure they had the time they needed to prepare her table before she arrived.

Once or twice along the way she thought she heard something behind her but she did not turn back, did not pause or turn her head to see what might have caused it. She simply continued walking until she made it to the center of the garden. There she was greeted by her favorite sight: a wisteria-covered pavilion with a quaint little outdoor table set simply with a pair of table settings. It was perfect, as always, and upon entering the shady place she was met with the sad, wistful eyes of her high priests waiting in the wings.

Approaching with arms open wide and a grateful grin she embraced all seven of them and gave them each a flower. They clutched their gift as though it might vanish at any instant and she tittered at them with a humored twinkle in her eyes.

"My children, why do you look so sad?"

They all looked at each other before one closest to her spoke up. "My Lady, why won't you come inside where it's safe? Why have you called your murderer your guest and made a meal for your killer? Are you really so sad that you welcome death like this?"

Her answer was a warm and radiant smile, partly for the honesty and partly for the question asked and partly for the memory of how it used to make Leonardo absolutely insane to hear her priests and priestesses speak to her with familiarity instead of reverence. Oh how she missed hearing him grumble about them.

"Khan, if it is my time then so be it. But I do not feel that pull today as I have before. The universe is calm and still and I feel in my heart that the man who comes today is in need of care, acting out of anger and pain. This is a soul who needs kindness and understanding, not more anger and pain. We shall see what the universe has planned for today, but I expect to see you later this evening should you choose not to stay."

His mouth pressed into a thin line in displeasure at her words but didn't offer any argument. "I would not be moved if the earth split open beneath my feet, my lady."

She snorted a bit ungracefully and shook her head, patting him on the shoulder. "I don't think you'd be able to defy the laws of physics and float in the air if the ground split open beneath you Khan but I appreciate the sentiment. Having you nearby will give me strength and clarity of mind, all of you. Though you are excused if you have other business to attend to."

When no one moved she nodded in acknowledgement and moved to take the guitar from the priest who was holding it, carrying the worn instrument to the little table. She sat and took a small sip of the tea, slightly sour and yet sweetened with just the right amount of honey, before moving the capo to the third fret and began to play. It was an old ballad that she hadn't sung in front of anyone for at least a hundred years but it was one she had loved from her previous lifetime and the moment was perfect.

And so she began to pick the strings and sing, letting the loneliness in her heart guide the emotion of the song.

_"Well I heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord_  
_But you don't really care for music do ya?_

_Well it goes like this, the forth the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift_  
_The baffled king composing Hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelu-u-ujah"_

On she sang, continuing with the rest of the chords and verses until the sound of a blaster being fired up had the seven priests murmuring in concern overshadowed the sound of the delicate strings being plucked. Finally looking up she was met with the sight of a boy, young even by mortal standards, staring her down with tears in his eyes. Her head cocked to the side as she quickly looked him over and steely blue eyes met his brown ones.

"My child, I'm afraid you're late. Lunch is nearly cold but we waited for you all the same. Would you care to join an old woman for some soup?"

The boy looked startled and his eyes dashed to the line of priests who regarded him with cold fury. Then looking back at what seemed to be a harmless old woman save for the simple elegance of her clothing his arm straightened and he pointed the firearm directly at her head. "I'm not here for soup! I'm here to kill you!"

"Hmmm. Is that so?" She asked, her tone betraying no more concern than if he had stated he wasn't hungry for soup at the moment. "My dear child, would you tell me your name?"

The boy's eyes narrowed at her dangerously and he took a step forward. "Harry. Harry LeRon."

The woman smiled and extended her hand over the guitar towards him, returning the favor pleasantly. "My name is Aaliyah, it's a pleasure to meet you dear."

Harry scoffed at her and sneered, "I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are. That's why I'm here. It's time your reign over this world came to an end."

She nodded warmly, still utterly unconcerned that the boy Harry had a lethal weapon pointed directly at her face, though she did withdraw her hand once it became apparent that he wasn't going to be shaking it. "Oh I quite agree, though I'm not quite sure what you think I reign over. I haven't left this garden for at least half a century. I'm quite fond of it. Though I suppose it's a bit of a moot point now. Did you enjoy your walk through the gardens in getting here, Harry?"

The aim of the weapon slackened as he peered around at the wisteria and the greenery beyond, looking quite a bit like it was the first he was noticing any of it. "Yeah it's alright I guess."

"I'm so glad you like it. It used to be Leonardo's favorite place to be too, though he was more partial to the western side of the garden. He had the most beautiful sand pit for making these elegant Zen designs and he was always so much better at it than I was. Michelangelo loved to play in the field on the north side, though he loved to come walking through the garden with me at least once each week. We could talk for hours on these paths." Her tone grew melancholy as she spoke, thin boney fingers pointing as she recalled the memories.

"Raphael best liked the pool on the East side, and he always was the best swimmer of us all. Donnie would visit the garden to clear his head sometimes but his true love was indoors. We never could fault him for that so I mostly took over his area of the garden and filled it with all of our favorites so I could bring him some in his lab when they were in bloom. He always did love it when I would bring him lavender roses. What is your favorite flower Harry?"

He blinked, confused by the question, but after a moment of hesitation he quietly answered, "Sunflowers."

Grin blossoming wide on her face, Aaliyah scooted out the chair next to her and patted it in a friendly manner, gesturing to Jakiel for him to come closer. "Jakiel, my dear, would you please go to the North side of the gardens and pick the very best bouquet of sunflowers you can find for our dear friend Harry here?"

The priest nodded his head curtly once and bowed himself out, hurrying along the path quickly while Harry frowned at the retreating man. "You see? That! That is why I'm here! You have all of these people here that you order around and you don't even pay them! You're greedy and rich and you've been living off of other people's hard work for too long!"

Aaliyah's head tilted to the side, regarding him carefully. "My dear boy. Please. Tell me more. Did you have a family member who was unhappy working here? Someone who felt that they were treated wrongly?"

Bitterness darkened his expression and he growled out, "My whole family. My dad, my mom, even my sister. They all came here and… and… They LOVE you! Every one of them! That's all I ever hear anymore is how great you are and its sick! It's wrong! They've missed everything because they were so busy doing stuff here they never had time for me! And I'm not the only one! This place you call your 'temple' has taken lots of moms and dads and made them miss things that they shouldn't have missed for their kids."

Aaliyah tapped her chin in deep thought, wracking her brain for information. "Your mother… her name is Clara? Clara LeRon? Wife of Brent LeRon? And your sister is… Lily?"

Harry took a step back in shock, stuttering in surprise, "How- How did you know?"

Aaliyah took the guitar and placed it off to the side, leaning it against the table. "My child I do my best to get to know all who choose to volunteer here. I trained your family members as they came to serve here. But I can understand how you must feel abandoned and angry that they would choose to come to be with an old woman instead of their own son, their own brother. And I agree. Missing family events is hard, especially if it's something big. But I cannot order them to go home."

Pain wracked through his facial expression and he lifted the weapon again, anger forcing his tone louder, "Why not? Because they're under some kind of evil spell here?"

She simply chuckled and shook her head, reaching for her tea once more. "Of course not. Your family is free to do as they choose to. And that is exactly why I cannot order them to stay or to go. I took an oath many centuries ago, before your great great great grandfathers were born, that I would never use my influence to order people to do my bidding. I simply can ask and it is up to them to choose to do what they will."

"Yeah well I'm telling you now!" He yelled, his voice cracking, "You're going to tell my family they're never allowed to come back here ever again or I'm going to kill you so they won't have a choice!"

She sighed and looked down at her unfinished tea, now cold, but sipped it anyways. "My dear child. I have lived for 1472 years. I have seen mankind fall twice due to his own faults and I tell you this. The men and women who take the freedom of choice away from their fellow men are the ones that history is never kind to. But I offer you kindness now. I am very, very old. Everyone I have ever known and loved is long dead and gone, their bones dissolved and reintroduced to the circle of life, matter, and energy that ties us all here. I have lived to see the fall of dictators and tyrants, earned dozens of my own battle scars through the ages, and I can tell you that I know what its like to feel left out. I have left myself out of things purposely and have been forgotten, I have been abandoned and I have been betrayed by the one man I thought loved me on more occasions than I thought I would ever have to endure. My child was ripped away from me in order for me to even be able to come to this place and for what? To love and to give only to lose in the end and to be left utterly alone by the very people I was sent here to save."

She looked up at the boy who had, again, slackened his grip on his weapon and blinked at her in confusion and surprise. "But… I thought you were like a god?"

She chuckled and shook her head sadly, regarding him with a look of nostalgia. "No, no, just a very… very old woman. The only thing special about me is that I can't die the way that regular people can when they get old and tired. I may be old, and I may be tired, but these old bones just won't quit on me. So if you are the one who is here to take an old woman and finally lay these old bones to rest so I can finally go to the void beyond and find my family, I would be a grateful old lady indeed."

"But…" Curiosity having a hold of the boy now he crept forward to get a better look at her, an action she didn't shy away from, "That can't be right. Everyone calls you a goddess and everyone treats you like one, everyone loves you and people say that just getting to talk to you can change their life forever. If the only thing special about you is that you can't die then… people wouldn't say those things about you."

Smiling sweetly at the boy she called for Khan. The man hurried to her side and she held out her hand, asking for his flower. He gave her a reproachful look, having been a priest long enough to have seen her do this sort of thing before. "My lady, you don't need to …"

"Khan, my child, a small prick won't hurt anything."

And so he relented, handing her the flower carefully. The thorns on the stem of the white rose were sharp and unforgiving, and with a gentle press her aged skin easily yielded to the strength of the prick. Bright red blood dripped onto the linen napkin beside her place setting and she smiled at both the blood and the boy who was considering the drip thoughtfully.

"You see Harry? Mortal as can be. I have no magic powers and no special qualities that make me better than anyone else. We all bleed red, my son, and the scars I bear are proof of that."

Khan accepted the flower as it was offered back to him and Aaliyah pressed the white napkin to her fingertip to stem the bleeding. Harry finally seated himself beside her and watched as the cloth darkened with her blood. "But then… why do people call you a goddess?"

She shrugged and quite bluntly replied, "Beats me. I think it's just because I'm so old, honestly, but aside from that I really can't say."

"So then why don't you tell them? If you're not special then why do you let people treat you like you're special? Why do you let people like those guys," Harry pointed to the line of men waiting anxiously among the droops of wisteria, "dedicate their lives to you?"

She smiled warmly at the young boy and looked over her shoulder at the priests, eyes twinkling with fondness. "I tell them every day they don't have to stay but I can't seem to be rid of them. I suppose it's for the better, an old woman like myself needs looking after or else I might get myself into trouble."

"So why? Why do people stay?"

She checked her finger and upon finding the bleeding had stopped, though a nice purple bruise was already forming instead, she put the napkin down and rested her chin thoughtfully on the backs of her interlaced fingers. "I think it's because of the work we do here. Not because of me, I assure you, but because of the temple. Here we feed the poor and care for those who have fallen on hard times, giving them a chance to get themselves back up on their feet. Men and women and children that need food and clothing and comfort, orphans that need to be taught and loved, elderly grandmothers and grandfathers that have no money and need to be cared for in their confusion and old age. People just, honestly, like helping other people. And that's what we do here."

He looked disbelieving, and skeptical, yes falling over her ancient face in an attempt to try to find some hints of dishonesty or secrecy. "But kings and presidents and even people from other worlds come here to talk to you. If you were just an old lady they wouldn't do that."

Aaliyah nodded and took a small sip of tea to wet her lips. "I think old people have just lived enough of life that they know a good idea when they see one and they know a bad idea when they see one. They know what things work and what things don't work, so kings who don't want to make people ad or start a war like to come and talk to me about their problems and I can tell them if their idea made people mad in the past or if their idea sounds like one that has worked in the past. I'm just an old history book, my child, and I just want to spend the rest of my time here taking care of people."

This all gave young Harry quite a bit to think about and he set his blaster on the table while he took a moment to ponder over the things she had said. The old woman gave her line of priests a look, tilting her head a fraction of a degree towards the blaster and they all nodded once in return. Smiling at Harry until he looked back up at her with his lips drawn into a thin line. "Miss? What was that song you were singing?"

Dropping the cheerfulness from her smile she looked down at the guitar with a sad smile. "It's an old, old song from a previous life. But I figured, if I am to die today I might as well sing from the heart. Even if it is an old song."

Harry's eyes dropped to look at the old thing, wondering a bit at how old and worn the instrument looked. "It… sounded sad."

She nodded at him and sighed. "It is. I miss my family terribly. Staying busy, helping the people of this world, it helps me not to think about it and to keep going. But I was with them for over a thousand years. We did everything together. We laughed, we fought, we played, we argued. But they died over 200 years ago and I miss them. That's why I was singing."

The earlier fury was completely gone and now curiosity had him, Harry now leaning forward with a look of understanding. "What happened?"

The corners of her mouth turned up a little and she picked up her spoon to stir the cold soup in front of her. "They died, one by one, as they got old. They all passed away within a couple of years of each other, they were always meant to be together. Both in life and in death. I was just… blessed to have been a part of their brotherhood. And if I can, I'd love to speak with the one who sent me here from my previous life and see if IT could be so kind as to let me spend just a little more time with my boys. But I fear… I fear it won't happen that way. I think I may never see them again."

Harry's head tilted to the side and he scooted forward, the motion tugging her lips up into a slight smirk. No matter the age, the innate curiosity of children could always be counted on. "You were sent here by someone? Was it God?"

She chuckled to herself, light and airy, and she motioned to Jakiel. "My dear, would you mind warming our bowls? This soup tastes much better when warm and young Harry here has had a long morning."

Drawing Harry's attention she started into her story, allowing Jakiel to take their food and slide the blaster off of the table in a fluid motion covered by the motion of the bowls moving. "I don't think I would call IT "God" but I suppose if we were to give IT a name that might be an alright name. But usually when people speak of "God" they are picturing a man, or a human looking form, that rules over the universe in a pervasive and all-seeing eye type of a thing. But this… IT was nothing like that."

She leaned back and looked up at the flowing wisteria, swaying lightly in the breeze, as she continued. "It was a very, very long time ago but I'll never forget it."


	2. Discovery

It seemed silly, really. All the petty things that I'd worried so much about in my lifetime, short as it had been. Worrying about my hair and my nails and whether or not anyone noticed the scar on my lip was pretty inconsequential when you no longer had lips. Or a body.

Yep. I was dead. "Deader than a doornail" was a common phrase I'd used in my life to describe things that were in my situation. Though what doornails had to do with floating through the void I was in escaped me. I thought about it all a few times, all the things I'd done and all the words I'd said. All the words I hadn't said. All the times and places I'd kept quiet and held my peace for the sake of tact. If I could have gone back and tried again, I would probably have said what was on my mind a little more. But again... that didn't really matter now that I was here. Wherever here was.

For what must have been the five hundredth time I called out into the void for someone, anyone, to hear me. It was silly and useless but really... I didn't have many other options. It was either that or just keep existing here alone for another eternity. I wasn't even sure how long I'd been there. Maybe it was as short as a few weeks and maybe it was as long as a century. Without a watch and with no one to keep you company... it was a little difficult to tell.

But finally something heard me. Something huge and powerful and radiant and beautiful. It wrapped around me protectively, cradling my consciousness and chasing away the sickening fear that I was going to be alone until I faded away.

**_You have much to give and much to learn, young One. You have known pain and thus you can bring pleasure, known heartache and thus can bring charity, known anger and thus can bring joy, known neglect and thus can bring care. You will lift up the heads of the weary and strengthen those who are no longer strong. This is the desire of your heart. But it will come at a heavy price. _**

_**You have what is required by a special place in the multiverse. Without someone like you being placed there a whole dimension is in danger of crumbling under the weight of the evil that is working to overthrow the balance that has been established. It will be a long and dangerous road ahead of you but if you will work and give everything you have to offer that universe you might be able to tip the balance back in favor of peace and order. **_

_**Do you accept this placement? **_

I started, surprised. _Placement? You mean… like… another life? _

**_A continuation of your existence in a new physical frame. _**

_H-have I had other lives? Other… frames? Before? _

**_Of course. But with each new birth those memories are hidden. The pain and the loss of the ten thousand lifetimes that you have lived, all of the people that you have known and loved that have each gone on to live their own continuations whom you may or may not ever see again... It would be crushing and more than your body could bear. _**

_Ok. I guess that makes sense. So all of these lives and experiences... It sounds like an insane number of beings to keep track of. There must be a lot of different worlds out there in order to accommodate all of those existences. _

**_That is correct. There are worlds without number and lives immeasurable. Universes and Dimensions and possibilities endless. _**

I thought for a while about that and then addressed the IT again. _I accept, but please allow me to retain my memories from my last life. If I am to do all of these things then I can't forget the lessons I have learned. Please. Let me__ go there with all of my memories from my last lifetime and let me start there as an adult. If I am going to do all of those things then I want to hit the ground running. Please don't make me suffer through childhood again. I want to make a difference now._

IT turned a pleasant, bright green and glowed with happiness. Agreeing to my request, I felt IT carry me through an enormous expanse of space and time. I watched galaxies fly by in every size and shape for what felt like ages and yet almost no time at all. I was amazed at every one of them, millions of lightyears across, filled with every color and variety of star and planet, and each one different from the last. We zipped along smoothly, passing them all by until I was brought to a swirling spiral galaxy and we dove into it. Dust and stars flew by as we approached our destination and at the frightening speeds we were moving at I wished dearly for eyelids that I could have closed. Without them, however, I watched in nervous anticipation as the planet flew closer and closer until…

Pain.

The sensation of being compressed was almost overwhelming and I was sure I was going to be crushed and destroyed. But then it subsided and instead I was left with only the feeling of incredible heaviness. Why was it dark? Why was I cold? …Cold? Wait…. I had a body again! I twitched my fingers and was so relieved to find that there was sensation in and beneath them. My eyelids flicked open and I grinned. Eyes. I had eyes. I sat up and looked at my hands, so grateful to have flesh and bone again. Flexing them a few times I sat up and looked myself over. It took a few minutes of tapping knees and wiggling my feet excitedly before I reached up and felt my hair. It was wet and long like it had been when I had first entered college. Wait… Wet?

It was then that I realized it was raining. I lifted my face and let the water pour over me, breathing in the humidity and happily basking in the pitter patter of the drops on my skin. I shook my head and giggled, then laughed loudly. I splashed in a nearby puddle with my hand, only to be immediately made aware that it was filthy. My clarity of mind starting to return, I looked at myself anew.

I was dressed fully with shoes on my feet, but that was all. No purse, no identification, and nothing in my pockets. I stood up and looked around, finding myself in a dark alley that I had never seen before. Come to think of it, I was in a completely new world. I hadn't ever seen any of this before. But it looked… human. Earthy. There were dumpsters and buildings and as a car drove by on the street I wondered if maybe I'd just been given a new life on my same planet. It certainly had looked a lot like earth from outer space… though the galaxy had looked a little different from the pictures I'd remembered seeing…

Shaking my head again I stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked around. It was a neighborhood. Though, from the looks of it, there were some business buildings nearby. Just down a few alleys that went through to the streets on the other side. No problem. And so, with no real idea of what I needed to do or where I needed to go, but knowing that I had Somewhere I desperately needed to be, I started walking.

The first alley was no problem, but the second alley did not prove to be so kind. I got halfway down the stretch when three large men, tattooed and carrying crude weapons, appeared at the end of the alley. Feeling more annoyed than anything, since I had only just been put here and I clearly had things that I needed to do, I kept walking. They looked at each other with a slight amount of confusion and moved together to block my way. I rolled my eyes and sighed audibly, stopping in front of them and folding my arms.

"Look, I don't have anything you can steal. I don't have a purse, I have nothing in my pockets, so would you please be so kind as to move so that I can be on my way?"

The smallest of the three shifted a little and moved to get out of the way but the man next to him snarled and elbowed him. "The hell are you doing?"

"The hell are you doing? She jus' said she ain't got no money. And we's late ta meet da boss-man."

"Shut ya mouth, rookie. We got time, and this pretty little thing's got plenty ta go around." The largest man advanced forward, making me instinctively backpedal. Suddenly remembering IT mentioning a great cost that my placement here would require, I started to panic.

"Nooooo nonononono you can't be serious. No way." I tripped on an empty box and hit the asphalt hard, but ignored the sensation of bruising and gravel digging pits in the palms of my hands. Scrambling I rolled and ran. There was shouting from behind me, urging the 'rookie' to catch me. Spurred on by the realization that only one of them needed to catch me to secure my demise, I picked up speed and began knocking things over behind me to slow my pursuer down.

My efforts were not enough, however, and it wasn't 20 seconds later that I felt a hand snatch the back of my shirt and jerk me backwards. I whirled around, smacking him hard with the back of my hand and stomping his foot. He yelped and cursed, dropping me, and I turned to run again only to bump forcefully into the most muscular of the three gang members.

"You gonna pay for that, girlie!" The howling man snarled at me, pulling out a knife. "Imma gut you right here and right now so I neva hafta see your face again!"

"COWABUNGA!" The victory shout from above announced the arrival of a new player to this deadly game as a massive form dropped from the roof above and immediately sprang into action. As quick as lightning and with the whirling hum of a bullroar the three thugs were dispatched and dropped to the ground, leaving me wide-eyed and breathless. Then as quickly as he had come he started to scale the fire escape and disappear into the night. It took my brain until he'd nearly reached the top to realize who this was and I screamed his name to keep him from leaving.

"MIKEY! MICHELANGELO! Wait!"

He froze in place and slowly turned to look at me. I could read shock in his posture, though he was too darkly veiled for me to see his expression. He dropped back down the fire escape and cautiously approached, sticking in the shadows. I was panting and my head was reeling at the fact that I was really speaking to him, but I had to say something or else risk losing this once in a lifetime moment.

"Th- uh- Thank you. I… I thought I was done for. But you saved me. Thank you Mikey."

"How do ya know my name? We met before?" He asked cautiously, and I was surprised at his timidity.

"No, no. You won't believe me when I tell you how I know you but you've definitely never met me before." I laughed and started walking forward, but froze mid-step when he immediately backed away.

"No don't do that! Don't… I'm… I'm different. Wouldn't wanna scare ya, you know?"

I laughed again and tilted my head to the side. "I know you're a turtle, silly. Now stop running away so I can give you a thank you hug."

"Wait… what? You know I'm… how?"

"It's a long story." I replied with a grin and a slight shake of my head.

It took him a second to process but suddenly his reservation was spent and he rushed forward, picking me up and spinning me around. "WOW! Somebody who isn't scared! I knew it I knew it I knew it! Leo swore it would never happen but I just knew! I knew somebody someday wouldn't be scared! Aw girl this is the best day ever!"

I squealed and laughed, my arms pinned to my sides and my lungs crushed in his powerful embrace. I wheezed and tried to speak as best as I could but the sound came out sounding strangled. "UGH! Excited to meet you too… Mikey… Oh geez… Can't breathe…"

He put me down quickly and I gasped for air, stumbling from the dizziness brought on by his spinning and my lack of oxygen. His arms carefully braced me on either side and I clung to him with a giggle and a grin until the world ceased its crazy spin. When his beaming face came back into focus I smiled even wider and straightened up, tugging my soaking shirt back into place.

"Well, that was exciting! So are you out patrolling alone or are your brothers nearby?"

His eyes grew wide and his head ducked a little bit in awe as he leaned forward towards me. "You know about the bros too? Are you a Jedi? What else do ya know about us, girl?"

I chuckled and looked down. "More than I should, probably. I know Leo is the oldest and he and Raphael butt heads all the time about him being leader. Raph is always scowling but really he's a sweetheart once you get to know him. Donnie is generally seen as the mild one but he's also sassy and hilarious. You are usually seen as the goof off but really you are… uh… well… The heart of the team. The anchor in a way. You keep everyone going when things look hopeless. And then there's Splinter, your father and Sensei, and he's a bit of a hardass but genuinely he loves you all more than anything."

Michelangelo's jaw had dropped in amazement and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Duuuuude… That is all totally true. Did you read my mind or something?"

I sucked in a deep breath to answer when a movement on the rooftops caught my eye. My head snapped up and Mikey turned, keeping a hand on my waist, and squinted to see who it was.

"I can't tell… was that Don? Wasn't big enough to be Raph…"

"Yeah, it's the Don-man. He 'n I are takin' this side of Manhattan, Leo n Raphie got the other side."

Mustering up a little bit of courage, I called out cautiously to the rooftop, "D-Donatello? Donnie, uh, it's ok. I know you're there. You can come out now."

The cautious form of one of Donnie's cameras peeked over the edge of the building. Mikey snorted and shook his head. "Naw, he ain't comin' down."

I grinned over at the orange-banded terrapin. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to go up to see him. If you want to scale up there quickly and let him know I'm on my way up, I'll take the stairs and be up in a minute or two."

Mikey rolled his shoulders confidently and smirked at me, making my heart flutter just a little bit. Damn that smile was addictive. "Aw, no need for stairs girl. I gotchu. Jus' hang on and the Mikey Express'll take care of the rest."

Giggling and blushing I put my hands up defensively and took a step back. "Noooo no no no. I'm way too heavy for that. I can take the stairs."

He cocked an eyebrow ridge and quickly scanned me up and down, burning my cheeks a slightly darker color. "Psh, you're… what… like 130 now that you're soakin' wet? I can bench like two of you, sweet thing. I got this."

"A buck 40 when I'm dry, actually, and that's a vertical climb." I replied with just a hint of firmness in my tone, shifting my body weight unconsciously a little to stand up straighter.

Tilting his head to the side, he looked at me carefully for a second and then took a half-step back. "I ain't gonna make ya do somethin' that makes ya uncomfortable, angelcakes. If ya wanna take the stairs, I'll let ya. But you aren't heavy, and I'll carry ya if ya want."

I was startled by his reply, completely unused to not having to fight over something like this. I glanced up quickly, and then looked back at Mikey and considered his offer. Sucking in a deep breath I smiled nervously and stepped over to him. "I know I'm going to regret this if I don't, so what the heck."

He gave me a cheeky grin as I wrapped my arms around his neck, and then with a quickstep I smoothly jumped and tucked my knees to my chest while supporting my weight with my arms. His arm cupped me tightly, securing me to his chest, and he nodded appreciatively. "Oooo, nice moves. You a dancer?"

I snickered to myself and shook my head, averting my gaze in mild embarrassment. "No, not officially. I just dance with my… well… I used to dance with my friends anyways. But… uh… they're pretty far away now so I can't really anymore."

"Aw, did they move away?" He asked, walking easily over to the fire escape and coiling up to spring. Tightening my grip on him I buried my face in his neck and squeezed my eyes shut. He chuckled at me just before launching the two of us vertically into the air and beginning his easy climb up the fire escape. I didn't say a word until we reached the top and I felt him walking across the level rooftop. Peeling my eyes open I caught sight of Donatello's nervous form shuffling on the other side, crouched and hiding to keep out of sight. Uncoiling a little I popped my head up and grinned, incredibly excited to meet the brains of the tmnt operations. He, on the other hand, did not share my sentiments.

"Mikey!" I heard him hiss at his brother, "What are you doing!?"

"Chill, brah. It's cool. She's totally on the level. Aincha, babe?" He stopped walking and gently released his hold on me, allowing me to slide to my feet and stand on my own.

"What kind of brain injury has she sustained to allow you to hold her like that?" He hissed again, pulling back out of sight with a small flinch when his eyes met mine.

I laughed and walked around the cooling unit with a warm smile. He pulled back further into the shadows with a tiny 'Eep!' as I tried stepping forward to him. Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion I dropped down to a crouch and used my hands in a rather ape-like fashion to help me hop-walk a little closer. "Don… Donatello… hey… Hey it's ok. I know about you, hun. There's no need to hide. I know about your mutation and your family and I can assure you that I have not sustained any injury, thanks to your brother. Come on out. It's ok."

He blinked a few times in the darkness at me, his head tilting to the side in disbelief. "You… aren't frightened of my appearance?"

I grinned at him and knelt down in the hopes of talking to him for a minute at least. "Hardly. As a matter of fact I find you a very handsome gentleman indeed, scales and all. You won't believe this, but I think that you, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael are all very handsome and I have absolutely no fear of you. Now how about you come out of the shadows there. That looks like an awfully uncomfortable place to crouch."

He smoothly slid out of the shadows and into the light nearby my side, pulling his goggles down to inspect me a little bit more closely. "Are you sure you don't have some kind of concussion? Are you a spy?"

I chuckled lightly and shook my head, answering with a cheeky grin, "No no, I'm no spy. I only just arrived here, truthfully. Though after the day I've had, I wouldn't put a concussion completely out of the question. Honestly you're the most familiar face I've seen in I don't even know how long and it's … I'm honored, really."

Donatello balked and lifted his goggles to peer into my eyes in shock. "Honored? You?"

"Yes of course!" I laughed again and leaned back against the cooling unit. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you why, but trust me when I say that I am truly and deeply honored to meet you and Mikey."

There was the tiny sound of something tinkling on the metal I was leaning on, and I looked up to find Mikey leaning over the edge with his arms folded and his chin resting on the lip. He was grinning down on me and I laughed at his antics, earning me an even wider smile and a little wiggle that brought him scooching forward over the edge so his arms could dangle down and reach me where I sat.

"Mikey, what are you doing you silly goose?" I giggled as I looked up at him and his wiggling fingers trying to reach my face.

"Well I was gonna try ta poke ya but I can't reach."

Snickering at him I swatted playfully at his hands. "Hey, tuck your chin and shake your head a little. I wanna see if you can land your necklace on me."

Beaming like it was the greatest idea he'd ever heard, he immediately obeyed. His necklace slid over the back of his head and dropped, his sunglasses bonking me on the head but the rest of it landing on my left shoulder. I giggled and looked up to see Mikey's mortified expression.

"Ohmagosh, chica I am SO sorry…"

I scrunched my face at him and blew him a raspberry before holding his necklace up to him with a wink. "I dunno what you're freaking out about, but you missed. Scoot a little to the right n try again."

He looked over at Don with a huge grin and wiggled to the side, slipping the necklace on again and attempting the feat once more. He landed it that time and I pumped my fists triumphantly in the air. "Scooooore!"

Mikey laughed and propped himself up on his elbows. "Aw yeah, the Mikeynator's got skillz, brah. Sorry for whackin' your head the first time…. Uh… Geez, I dunno your name."

"Aaliyah."

He blinked twice and furrowed his eye ridges a tiny bit. "Say it again. I wanna get it right."

I smirked and pronounced it again. "Uh-lee-yuh."

He tried it a few times before grinning down again at me. "Damn. Pretty name."

I blushed again and looked out at the rooftops around us. "Thanks. It's ok if you forget, I forget names all the time. I usually have to ask people to remind me like eight times before I remember it on my own."

"Forget?" Mikey rolled and dropped down next to me, making me squeak and giggle, inching a little closer to Don out of surprise. "Naw, no way I'd forget you. You're the first girl that hasn't tried throwin' a brick at my head or run away screamin'. I couldn't forget ya if I wanted."

I made a noise of total disbelief and pulled a face. "Whaaaaaa? No, that can't be true. What about April? April loves you guys, doesn't she?"

Suddenly solemn, Mikey's gaze dropped to the roof and he picked at the ground for a moment. "She…"

"How do you know about April?" Donnie asked behind me, leaning forward to catch my eye.

"Ummmmm….. VERY long story. But I know she saved you guys from the fire when you were babies and everything. So…"

Donatello tilted his head to the side and kept his face void of expression. "What else do you know about her?"

Suddenly on the spot I tried to recall as much as I could from their world and put it in a way that wouldn't incriminate me. "Weeeeelllllllllllllllll… I uh… I know she took a picture of you boys after the subway hostage situation. Then she uh, kinda accidentally showed Sacks the way to the lair and then she and Raph and Vern had to go on a rescue mission to get you guys from the estate. Then she went to the tower with you guys to take on Shredder and she got the canister of mutagen that was distilled from your blood from Sacks and she kicked Shredder in the face and then she got her job back at Chanel 6 news as a reporter but kept your secret and… she's your friend?"

Stoney-faced, Don looked out over the rooftops. "Mostly your information is correct. Except for a few details at the end. I don't know who this 'Vern' is, and April did manage to get the mutagen from Sacks but at the cost of her life. She was shot twice in the abdomen and we were not able to get her to medical attention in time. Unfortunately, in our haste to get April to a hospital we were seen by dozens of onlookers and were hunted mercilessly for 15 months and 27 days afterwards. We have not been able to be seen since without gross repulsion and terror, as we are something of a boogeyman here in this city. You see, the bystanders thought that we were the cause of her death, though the way Raphael in particular was acting it is a logical conclusion to come to. We considered leaving, but without us New York has no chance against the Shredder; so we stay and fight from the shadows."

Horrified, I looked at Mikey and Donnie back and forth. Mikey was sullen and silent, and Donatello had set his face firmly though there was an extra glitter in his eyes that belied his stoicism. My heart aching I wrapped my arms around Mikey and nuzzled his shoulder. "Mikey… I am so sorry. I didn't know. I really didn't know. I understand now, and I am so sorry." Letting go of Mikey I turned and hugged Donnie as best as I could with his pack and tech.

Donatello stiffened in surprise and leaned away a little. Sputtering and scrambling for words, he shifted out of my grip and turned a noticeably darker shade of green. "That, uh, well that is, it was years ago and we've adjusted since then. We do well enough. But that doesn't explain where you received your information. How do you know what you know… and how did you not know about April's death? It was reported on the news for months."

Shivering a little at the evening drop in temperature, I smiled and shook my head. "If I tell you the truth you'll think I'm delusional. Either that or intoxicated in some way. It's just too crazy."

Mikey draped an arm over my shoulder carefully and I snuggled in to his side. It was some slight relief, but his cold-blooded body didn't provide much in the way of heat. "Girl, you're freezin'. How about we getcha home an' you can get dry."

Shivering again, though I did try to stifle it, I smiled up at Mikey. "Aaaaaaaaaaactually about that. See…. I… aw hell, I might as well tell you the story. The long and the short of it is I don't have a home. This that I'm wearing is all that I have. But let me explain why and hopefully I can do it in a way that doesn't make me sound too clinically insane."

And so I started from the beginning. My home, my life, and my death. The encounter with the IT and our exchange, and then my arrival here and meeting Mikey. I explained how on my world they were fictional characters that I knew and loved and how their version of the TMNT story went on my world. I started to tell them about other versions of them but by then my teeth had begun to chatter too much for conversation and I was freezing.

The brothers looked at each other for a moment over my head, passing back and forth some silent expressions and gestures before Donnie sighed heavily and Mikey beamed. "Miss Aaliyah… if your story is true then we cannot leave you out here on the streets alone with nowhere to go. Your body temperature is already dropped to 97.7 and will continue to drop quickly in this weather. Leo and Raph won't like it, but…"

"We're keepin' ya!" Mikey exclaimed, scooping me up easily and hopping to his feet. I giggled and squealed at the sudden movement, clinging to Mikey tightly.

"What? I get to go to the lair? Are you serious?"

"Hell yeah, girl! You're gonna love it! I'll show you all over my crib and we'll getcha all toasty and dry and we'll watch movies and play videogames and…"

"Woah woah woah… Hold on. Easy there tiger." I giggled, chiding him a little and tapping him gently on the snout. "You are forgetting one very important thing. Splinter. I will not step one foot into the lair without getting Splinter's ok first. I love and respect him too much to simply invade his home that way. So you call Splinter first and THEN we'll see if I can stay for a little bit."

Mikey smiled at me warmly and hugged me even closer, nuzzling his face into my neck. "Awwwwww, girl, after hearin' that I just KNOW he's gonna like ya. Don-man'll call on the way and work his magic. Won'cha Don?" He called over his shoulder at his brother, earning him a snort.

"I'll see what I can do, Mikey, but I'm no miracle worker. You know how he feels about bringing people home."

He smiled a bit nervously at Don but wiped the apprehension from his face when those baby blues shifted to focus on me. "It'll be alright. I ain't lettin' ya stay out in the cold t'night. If Don can't convince him, I'll work my Mikey charm and win him over. But we better get movin' before ya turn into a cute-cicle."

I giggled and blushed, turning my head a little and looking away. "Awww, you are so sweet. But you know you don't have to butter me up any. I already like you guys a lot so there's no need to try to win me over."

He beamed at me and shook his head a little, his eyes still twinkling with happy disbelief. "Man, I'm never gonna get used to that. And I don't wanna either. Let's go, babycakes."

Mikey led the way, running and jumping across the rooftops easily with Donatello in tow. I couldn't hear what was being said but it did sound like he was doing his absolute best to explain the situation to their father calmly and rationally. We dashed over the sleeping city for what felt like miles until Don called out for Mikey to wait, that this was far enough. The younger of the two brothers sat down with me on his lap, wrapping his arms around me protectively and hugging me tightly.

"Man… I'm sorry I'm not warmer, girl. You're freezing. First thing I'm doin' when we get home is stickin' you in the tub so you can stop shaking." I nodded my head and buried my face in his neck to keep out of the wind that had picked up, chattering violently and hoping Don could convince his father soon. Donnie began pacing the rooftop and I could finally catch his side of the conversation now that we were no longer running through New York City.

"Sensei, whether or not her story is believable seems a moot point. She has no key on her person, no I.D., and her core temperature is rapidly dropping in this weather. She has nowhere to go and until we can find out more, I don't see how we have a choice. Weather aside, letting her go seems foolish. … … Hai… Hai… … Hai, Sensei. Estimated arrival time is 7.47 minutes. Hai… Thank you Sensei."

Donnie ended the call and slumped his shoulders, letting out a rush of air and buckling his knees slightly. "You are cleared to enter our home. Now come on Mike, we have to get her inside right now." He adjusted his goggles a little and took another thermal scan. "96.1 … Any more time out here and you'll enter severe hypothermia. Let's move, Mikey."

Michelangelo quickly stood up and shifted my shaking figure around in his arms so he could safely drop down the side of the building and slip after Donatello into the sewer system. Cold as I was I didn't have the capacity to be repulsed by the overpowering stench of the place, nor did I care enough to count myself so blessed. I didn't pay attention to the twists and turns we took once underground, only noting that it was significantly warmer out of the wind and rain. There were voices and questions and a little bit of jostling in Mikey's arms… I felt two different large hands each press in turn to my face to feel my temperature and then one smaller and bonier one. I knew I was in trouble when huddling closer to Mikey actually did feel warm, but as cold as I was there was no way I could do anything more than pray that my pitiful situation would not fall on deaf ears tonight. Or else there was a real chance I wouldn't get the opportunity to greet tomorrow.


	3. Questions

Suddenly I was awash in relaxing warmth and my eyes flew open. Mikey was lowering me carefully, fully clothed, into a hot bath and he looked worried. "You gonna be ok, angelcakes. We gotcha. Just sit tight a minute and I'll be back with somethin' hot ta drink. We'll getcha fixed up in no time. I'll be right back."

As Mikey disappeared I couldn't help but muse that the water was almost painfully warm… but it was better than painfully cold so I stayed put until the shaking stopped and I was able to unravel myself a little bit. Finally able to move I rolled onto my back and slipped my head underwater, letting just my nose poke up above the surface so as to warm my head and neck. A few minutes of perfect silence later I felt a gentle tap on my forehead and I lifted myself up into a sitting position. Wiping my eyes and shaking my head a little Mikey's knuckles brushed against the back of my arm.

"How ya feelin' girl?"

I smiled and looked over at him, splashing gently in the water with my hands. "Warmer, though I think I sapped all of the heat from the water already. Gotta say, this is definitely the first time I've taken a bath fully dressed. But I was soaking wet anyways so I might as well, ya know?"

He chuckled and dipped his hand into the water, balking a little in surprise. "Damn girl! This was hot a minute ago, I swear it was."

I laughed, then gasped and clapped my hand over my mouth when the sound echoed far louder than I had intended. "Whoops, that was loud. Sorry about that."

Mikey ran his thumb affectionately down my cheek and raised an eye ridge reproachfully at me. "Don't apologize for that, chica. I love it when ya laugh."

Blushing and turning away, I pressed the back of my hand to my lips and nose to hide my huge grin. "I… aww… I don't even know what to say. You are so sweet."

"Well then don't. I brought ya somethin'... Chamomile." He held up a mug and carefully transferred it to my hands. I took the offering gratefully and sipped at it cautiously. It was boiling hot and it burned my tongue and throat in such a pleasant way I let out a deep, throaty moan before I could even think to stifle it.

"Oh man, this is just what I need." I sighed and cupped the mug greedily in both hands, letting the heat loosen up my joints a little further.

Mikey leaned on the edge of the huge cistern and rested his chin on his arm, smiling. "Oh good. Ya want any more hot water?"

Drinking deeply I had to ignore his question for just a moment until I had to come up for air. Apparently I had an empty stomach when I'd been placed here and now that the immediate danger of freezing was past I had something more pressing that I needed to take care of. Mikey brushed his knuckles over my arm and laughed at me, telling me to slow down or else I was going to drown. Once the cup had been drained I handed it back to him with a sheepish smile.

"Geez, girl, wasn't it hot?"

"Yeah, a bit, but it's ok. Now I'm all warm inside!"

He chuckled and shook his head at me. "So you done with swimmin' for tonight?"

"Yeah," I giggled, lifting my leg out of the water and watching the water pour out, "Probably ought to finally get dry. Heh, literally the whole of my life here so far I have been sopping wet and I think if I take on any more water I'm going to have to turn into a fish."

He helped me stand up and then cleared his throat with a dark flush to his cheeks. "We, uh, don't have anything for you to change into. And we don't really wear a lot so there's not much of ours you could put on while your clothes dry off."

I tapped my chin for a second before answering. "Do you have a thin blanket or… like… a sheet? Somewhere?" He nodded his head and kept his eyes averted, though I could see them dancing in my direction from the temptation to look and I snickered at him. "Could you go fetch it for me? I'll need a short length of rope or a bungee cord or something I can tie around my waist too. It won't be stellar, but it'll do until these dry off. The bigger the sheet, the better."

"Sure thing, babe. I'll go grab that for ya. I'll just.. I'll be right back." He stammered and rushed out of the room, making me blush and laugh at him. Poor thing, I thought to myself, all flustered because my clothes are sticking to me. Peeling them off as quickly as I could, I wrung them out into the water and hung them on the edge of the tub once I'd pulled the plug and the water had started to drain out. Shivering just a little at the chill in the air I grabbed one of the towels that had been set out and wrapped up in it, climbing carefully out once I was completely bare and in no danger of slopping excess water on the floor.

There was a timid knock on the doorframe and I called out a cheerful, "Come in, I'm decent." Mikey's head poked around the corner and grinned at me when he saw I was covered. He stepped into the bathroom and presented me with an enormous sheet and a three foot long length of thin rope.

"I hope this works. I found the biggest one we had but I think it might be a bit too big, ya know?"

I smiled at him and took it gratefully. Then winking at him I held it up a little and replied, "Just watch, I'll have this into a decent dress in no time at all. Just go stand guard at the door, no peeking, and I'll be ready in two shakes of your tail."

"Alright! I can't wait to see what ya do!" He quickly exited and stood at attention, his shell facing me, with no indication that he was going to be turning to face me anytime soon. Just to be safe, however, I turned my back to him and unfolded the sheet.

He was right. It was huge. wrapped the towel around my hair and twisted it up onto my head so I could use both hands and quickly set about my work. I folded it in half lengthwise and carefully considered my plan of attack. I picked up an end and wrapped it tightly around my body once, then draped it over one shoulder and wrapped it around again. I covered the other shoulder and wrapped once more before calling for Mikey.

"Michelangelo… sweetie, I could use a little help tying this in place. I'll hold it here if you would be so kind as to take that rope and tie it tightly around my waist." He looked around very slowly with wide eyes as though half expecting me to be indecent, but instantly relaxed upon seeing what I'd managed to do.

"Wow! Girl, that is awesome! Man, that actually really looks cool! I can't believe ya did that!" He bounded over happily and snatched up the rope, looping it around my hips once when I had a realization.

"Wait, wait, Mikey, hold up. I actually think a more secure place for this is going to be a little higher."

He stopped his chatter and looked up at me with a grin, undoing the knot. "Sure thing babycakes. Where should I tie this up for you?"

Blushing a little I cleared my throat. "How about you hold this in place and I'll tie it."

He looked slightly put out for a second before shrugging and placing his hands over mine. "Got it."

I slipped the rope out of his fingers and looped it around my back, shimmying it up around my ribs and tying a knot so the rope sat directly under my breasts and the knot was between them. Mikey's face darkened just slightly and he shied away a little. "Oh… yeah, probably better for you to tie that."

"Yep." I agreed with a mischievous grin and a wink. "Can't have you accidentally making it to second base without getting to first, right?"

He blinked at me once before cracking into a grin and sliding his hands reverently to rest on my waist. "Nope. I, uh, don't wanna be a base-skipper. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not me."

Cackling at his embarrassment I stood up on my tip toes and guided his wide-eyed face down to me so I could kiss his nose. "You're adorable. Thank you for helping me and carrying me and not letting me freeze solid out there. You must be very strong to have carried me all that way."

Mikey preened a little and flexed for me, obviously giddy at the attention he was receiving. "Hella strong, baby! No need to buy tickets to this gun show! And if just carryin' ya that little way got me a kiss then I'll carry you the rest of the night, sweet thing! No need for your pretty toes to ever touch the ground while Mikey's around!"

He moved to scoop me up but I jumped away, clutching at my dress and laughing merrily. "No no no! I don't want this thing falling apart on me, but thank you for the offer. I'm totally capable of walking around on my own. Thank you though, that really is very sweet."

He pouted a little and admitted with sad eyes, "Aww, but I wanted to earn another kiss…"

Laughing genuinely at his honesty I shook my head and smiled at him warmly. "Sweetie you don't even know me yet. How do you know you even want a kiss from me?

Taking me by surprise he snatched me up in his arms and dipped me elegantly, making me squeal and squeak. With a smile he leaned in just a little and replied, "I would carry you to the Statue of Liberty and back, baby girl, if it meant I could have a kiss."

I blushed so darkly I was sure I was going to turn purple and I could not keep from clapping my hands over my face to hide my embarrassed grin. "Mikey… oh my heck, I'm… I… I can't even… You are so sweet. Oh my gosh. I don't even know what to say!"

"Michelangelo!" A curt voice barked from the door and Mikey jumped, jerking me back upright and making me squeak in surprise. "Stop being an idiot and leave her alone. Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?"

Mikey regarded me with a dropped chin like a scolded puppy. "I… I am?"

Cupping his cheek tenderly I smiled warmly at him and shook my head. "Of course not sweet pea. You are just fine. Leo, stop giving Mikey such a hard time. He's been a perfect gentleman the whole night."

There was a pause and then suddenly he was there at my elbow, regarding me with confusion and concern. "How… You didn't even look at me. How could you have known my name by just my voice when we have never met before? Mikey, have you been showing her videos of us?"

Mikey shook his head emphatically no, holding his hands up innocently. "Not me brah. You saw us bring her in all cold and stuff. I let her warm up like Don said and then I found somethin' for her to wear. I've only been hangin' with her for like 10 minutes bro."

He stared at Mikey for a second before blinking and asking, "Donnie then?" Mikey shook his head again. Leonardo closed his eyes, leaning back and pinching the bridge of his nose with an air of longsuffering. "Not this again."

Realizing I'd just pulled and April on him, and remembering her loss, I instantly backpedaled and held up my hands to him. "Leo… Leo I'm so sorry. I shouldn't… I shouldn't have…"

"Th' hell's goin' on in here?" A gruff baritone called from behind me and I whipped around with a smile.

"Raphael!"

He balked a little and straightened up at the sound of his name, looking as surprised and concerned as Leonardo. "The hell?"

I clapped my hand over my mouth, realizing I'd just done it again, and I flushed a dark red. "Oh gosh…"

There was the feeling of a body immediately behind me and I jumped again, but upon leaping to the side I was greeted by a warm pair of baby blues and Mikey's concerned expression. "Hey! Hey hey hey, easy there baby girl. Easy, come here. I gotcha." Latching onto him tightly he scooped me up and turned to his brothers with a little bit of a sniff and a frown. "Now who's making her uncomfortable." Then tilting his chin and giving me a reassuring smile he sidestepped them both and carried me out. "Let's go hang out on the couch, angelcakes. Let these two boneheads alone for a bit."

The two brothers growled out a low 'Mikey…' as he left, but he paid them no mind. Donatello was at his computer, and he was busily typing away. Wiggling a little I convinced Mikey to let me down so I could go see what he was doing. He pouted a little but didn't keep me from tiptoeing over behind his brother. Quiet as a mouse I snuck up behind him and peered over his shoulder. A quick check of the monitors told me he was trying to find a record of me somewhere, and the little grumble of frustration when several monitors in quick succession flashed a red error code told me he was having no success.

I brushed my knuckles over his arm, making him jump and squeak. Pressing his palm to his chest he hit a button quickly with his other hand to make the monitors all switch instantly to surveillance, ducking his head nervously and smiling guiltily. "OH! H-hey, hey I didn't see you there. You startled me. I was just, uh…" He waved his hand vaguely at his monitors and shifted in his chair.

I laughed and shook my head. "Donatello, I have an IQ higher than 3. I know you were trying to identify me."

Grimmacing uncomfortably at being caught, he tapped the button again and brought up the previous set of screens. "I have searched every database I have been able to tap into and there is absolutely no record of you anywhere. It's as though you don't exist."

I laughed again and smiled warmly. "That's because I just got here, like I told you. But here, how about you try my Social Security Number and see if that pulls anything up."

He started and blinked at me a few times. "Oh… Yes… I- I do suppose that would be helpful. W-would you be opposed to… I mean, it is very personal and you should never give that information to a stranger… I would never use it for anything nefarious of course and I won't make-"

I cut him off his nervous rambling with a gentle press of my index finger to his lips and a warm smile, getting butterflies in my stomach at his wide eyes and dark tint to his cheeks. "I know. I know you. Besides, I'm curious to see if it already belongs to someone on this planet or not." I rattled off the number, which he typed in quickly but did not press enter. Instead he simply waited for me patiently, making my eyes dart around. "Uhhhh what are you waiting for?"

"The last number. You've only given me nine digits."

Furrowing my eyes in confusion I turned my head just slightly and counted them out on my fingers. "Yeah… that's all there is. Three, then a dash, then two, another dash, and then the last four… There are no more digits."

We blinked at each other a few times before I cracked a smile and giggled. He grinned at me in return and giggle-snorted, which made him blush and me crack up even harder. Eventually we were a giggling mess without reservation, leaving Mikey to scratch his head at the two of us. I finally wiped the tears from my eyes and gasped, sucking in a deep breath.

"Well I guess that answers that question. There's not going to be any record of me anywhere and no chance of anyone here having my same number either because I don't have the right number of digits on this planet."

"And with as little luck as I've had with your fingerprint or corneal scan, I doubt this search will bring up anything in any of the databases I've searched." He pulled his goggles down and scanned me quickly before replacing them on his forehead. "It appears as though your vitals have returned to normal. Mikey has taken good care of you."

I nodded and folded my hands in front of me before returning, "You both have. I don't know what I would have done if Mikey hadn't dropped in. I feel like I owe you both my life, in a way. And I owe Sensei my thanks for his hospitality and kindness in allowing me to enter your home. I hope I will get to thank him for that."

Donnie's eyes widened a little and flicked down to my side and I stiffened just a little in anticipation just as a warm and wrinkled hand touched my elbow. "You shall not have long to wait for that opportunity, my dear."

Donnie bent at the waist a little and murmured a quick 'sensei,' reminding me of my manners. I stepped backwards and bowed deeply before him, dropping to my knees and offering the Japanese Most Honorable Bow. "Master Splinter! It… it's such an honor."

I felt a kind hand on my shoulder lifting me up gently. "Rise child, such things are not necessary. But I would ask kindly if you might tell me more about yourself and how you came to be here. My sons have told me a little but I should like to hear it from you as well. This is a most mysterious thing and I wish to understand it fully."

"Yes, of course, I would be happy to answer any and all questions you have for me."

He led me to their little table where we knelt down, or rather he knelt down and I sat down with crossed legs, his four sons lingering nearby. I looked them over with a smile and motioned for them to come sit down with us. "Come on, I don't bite… well, not hard enough to draw blood anyways. I want you guys to be able to hear everything too and ask questions if you want. I have nothing to hide from you. Come on over."

Mikey leapt over and plopped down right behind me, pulling me into his lap. I giggled and laughed, settling in comfortably while the other brothers settled down around the table. Splinter asked me to tell him how I got there, which I did happily, leaving out nothing. When that tale was done he stroked his beard thoughtfully and nodded slowly. Then he asked how I knew his sons, causing me to blush a little.

I explained to the best of my abilities how the franchise worked on my planet, how they were a set of fictional characters that were well loved and the various incarnations of them through the years. I explained all of the different versions in as much detail as I could and how their particular version's story played out in my world. How their particular version was a movie… not real in my dimension… and _**very**_ briefly touched on the fact that I had loved their designs and had spent some time learning more about them as individuals. Again Splinter nodded and stroked his beard, pondering my words carefully.

"So… it seems as though your knowledge of us does not present us with any immediate danger." He finally mused quietly, and I nodded emphatically.

"I, no, of course not. I have the utmost respect for you and your family. I would never ever dream of even entertaining the idea of endangering you."

"Tell me again, child, what it was that this entity told you was the reason for your placement here in this new life."

I repeated its words verbatim and waited patiently to see what he thought about it. If there was anyone that could understand what it was that I was meant to do it would be him.

He stroked his beard silently for a few moments before musing again, "And it was only moments later that my sons happened upon you. Fate, as it seems, may have finally granted us the kindness we never thought we might again enjoy… human compassion and friendship. A connection to the surface. And the opportunity to change the hand that fate has given us. We have been hated and hunted for seven long years and perhaps now that will all come to an end."

"Woah, woah, dad. We only just met this woman. How do we know she isn't a spy from the Shredder? We literally know nothing about her. Seems a bit unwise to just blindly trust her like this." Leonardo spoke up, leaning forward and gesturing to me while addressing the wise, old rat.

Unfortunately, I really didn't have much in the way of argument there. "No, Leo's right. As honored as I feel at even so much as the thought of being able to actually help your family… I cannot ask you to just trust me like that after all you have been through. So… so tell me what I need to do to earn your family's trust. What can I do?"

Raphael snorted at me and leaned back to fold his arms at me. "Well fer starters you could tell us 'bout you."

"Yeah! Tell us all about you, baby doll!" Mikey chimed in, giving me a light squeeze around my middle where his arms were resting.

I blushed a little and shrunk a little under the weight of all of their gazes. "Oh… um… ok. What do you want to know?"

"OOOOOH tell us what you like to do for fun!" Mikey immediately asked, bouncing the both of us. I squealed and giggled while Mikey earned a couple of solid smacks from his brothers.

"Well, honestly… I had a daughter. She was two… is? Two? Guess she might still be two… I don't know how long I was in the aether in Earth time so for all I know she's 30 now…" There was a wrenching pain in my heart at the memory of her and my sudden realization that I would never see her again, but I kept talking to keep from suddenly choking up. I would mourn her later, but right now was not the time. I cleared my throat and looked down, trying to ignore the break in my voice as I continued, "So most of my time was spent taking care of her. I, uh, I did like to draw though. And write. Good golly I wrote a lot of stories."

Lifting my eyes to meet Raphael's I grinned a little with a wry glint. "I crochet. Mostly gloves and things, only ever made one blanket. Made a few little things like a bottle holder for my kiddo's crib and a toy Toothless but my real specialty is gloves. I can hammer out a pair in a day if I really sit down and power through it." His eyes narrowed suspiciously, filling me with nervous butterflies. "But… I… uh… I'm crap at knitting. I have a lot of respect for people who can do it. I just can't get the motions down without forgetting the second that I look away. Soooo…." His expression remained unchanged, so I moved on to Don and looked over at the genius.

"But I love science. I mean, I am a Chemist by trade so I love nerd jokes and funny science humor. I like doing experiments in my spare time, both in the lab and in the kitchen." At that point I looked over my shoulder to smile at Mikey and wiggle a little in his arms. "I friggin love to cook and mess around with spices and things. I think you and I could have a lot of fun cooking together sometime. I'll have to make you some of my specialties and you'll have to make me some of yours."

"Aw hell yeah baby girl! I'll make you anything you want. I can do chicken and pasta and all kinds of great stuff!"

Giggling I returned my attention forward and glanced finally at Leo, his icy gaze making me pause for just a second before I could continue. "I…. uh… I love to read. And meditate, but I never had the time to really ever do it in long stints. Mostly just kinda meditation-on-the-go. Five minutes of clearing my mind here and 20 minutes of silence and stillness in the car while I drove home and things. So… maybe… uh… If you were bored one day… maybe you could take a few minutes and point me in the right direction with longer stretches of meditation. I uh… also like to dry flowers. Not very good at growing them though… I was so busy that I'd forget to water them. I killed a cactus once."

Raph snorted his laughter and I grinned at him, thrilled that I'd cracked through a little. "Yeah, poor thing was blooming and everything when my mom gave it to me and I did really well with watering it over the summer. I named him Cal and painted his little pot and everything. And then school started up and things got busy and I looked at him one day like three months later and suddenly realized he was totally shriveled up and dead. I felt so bad but… you know… what can you do at that point?" He shook his head at me a little and returned to his defensive posture but with a little less of an edge to his gaze. Thrilled that I'd started to make a little headway I was determined to keep up with my good fortune and see if I could make him laugh again.

"I like working out too but I'm afraid I never really had anyone to teach me how to use the gym equipment right. Oh man, you should have seen me, running around like a lost puppy trying to watch other people do their exercises so I could learn how to do them right. Almost crunched myself in half the first time I tried using a diagonal leg press machine. Some poor guy had to come over and help me out of it so I didn't get squashed. It was hilarious. So mostly I stick with stuff that doesn't require a machine because man… I'm more likely to get stuck in it than anything."

He snickered at me and shook his head, his arms loosening their grip a little on each other and I grinned widely. "Maybe you could show me some exercises sometime and make sure I do them the right way. I'm pretty sure my form is crap."

He nodded his head once, bobbing it only just a little at me, and hummed deeply in his chest. "Yeah, I could probably do that."

I grinned hugely at him, making him clear his throat and shift a bit, his arms refolding tightly across his chest. Damn, I thought to myself, I was so close. I didn't have long to dwell on it, however, as questions from the boys and their father followed in rapid succession soon after. I spent nearly four hours just answering their queries and chatting with them about the differences between our worlds. My eyes were drooping by the time they finally slowed and I yawned sleepily, prompting a chorus of yawns and stretches from around the table. Splinter touched my knee gently to catch my attention before smiling warmly at me and tilting his head towards his family.

"My dear, I have a few words to say to my sons. Would you mind giving us a few moments alone?"

I jumped and scrambled out of Mikey's lap, eager to comply. "No! No, no, no, of course not. I'll go hang out on the couch. Take as much time as you need." Mikey whined about losing his personal lap heater but a quick smack from Raph put a stop to his fussing as I quickly left and made my way to the other room. I giggled at their antics and shook my head to myself. Boys will be boys, I thought to myself.

The living room was dim and quiet and through the stillness the soothing sound of Splinter's voice carried unknowable consonants and vowels through the space. I yawned again and plopped down on the chair, wrapping the knit blanket around myself, curling up into a tight ball and snuggling down while I waited. The voices of the four boys rolled across the concrete and rocked me softly, weighing down my eyes and uncoiling the tension from my shoulders smoothly. Slowly, softly, I felt consciousness slipping from me and I was powerless to stem the welcoming tide of exhaustion. The scene around me faded to darkness and the last thought I had was to wish on every star in the sky that this wasn't just a dream because this was the coolest thing to ever happen to me in my existence.

* * *

"You think we should move her?"

"Hells naw. You wanna wake that sleeping angel, brah?"

"But she looks so…"

"Hot?"

"…I was going to say uncomfortable."

"Where would we even put her? She either sleeps here or she takes one of our beds."

"I totally call dibs!"

"SHHHH!"

"SHHHHHHH!"

"Whaaat? If she sleeps in my bed she'll make it smell nice for daaaaaaaays!"

"Fuck that. I ain't lettin' him lord that over us."

"Well then what do you suggest, Raph?"

"Nothing. I'm just sayin' he's gonna be insufferable if we let her sleep in his bed."

"Guys, there's nothing wrong with letting her stay there. She clearly chose the chair instead of the couch so it can't be that uncomfortable. Besides, she's so small it appears as though she fits there without any problem."

"I know… I just feel bad. It's impolite…"

"Not like we got a guest bed she can sleep in, Jeeves. Jus' leave her there. She'll be fine."

"But what if she rolls off and falls on the floor? She could injure herself."

"Betcha I could pick her up without wakin' her, brah. Wanna see?"

"NO."

"God, no."

"Michelangelo, you so much as think of moving her and I will personally-"

"Alright, alright, fine. But tomorrow night I totally call dibs on letting her sleep with me."

"MIKEY!"


	4. Settling

My eyes popped open and I looked around. The lair was silent and still, but I was suddenly wide awake. My intuition was telling me that I wasn't alone, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be awake yet. I didn't have a watch and there were no clocks in view to tell me what time it was, though I wasn't sure knowing the time would have helped me much. Deciding that staying put wasn't going to get me anywhere I yawned and stretched, giving whoever was around a little bit of warning that I was finally awake. There was the hurried squeak and hum of a rolling chair followed by the rapid-fire clacking of fingers on a keyboard, making me grin widely because I knew who was there now. So without moving from my place I called out to him, trying my best to keep the mirth out of my tone.

"Good morning Don."

He made a small noise of surprise and shifted a little bit before answering. "Oh, uh, good morning. How…?"

I snickered and finally sat up, adjusting my make-shift dress so that I was at least decent before turning to him. "I was a mom AND a teacher, remember? Moms and teachers are superheroes. I have eyes in the back of my head."

He giggled nervously and bounced his leg a little. "I see. I'll have to be sure to remember that."

I winked at him and went back to fussing with the sheet I was tangled in. "And I'll have to remember to avoid Mikey's nest or else find myself out of Raphael's good graces."

A quick glance and a smirk in Donnie's direction made me almost burst out laughing. "Oh…" He was a dark green and deeply embarrassed, looking around at anything but me. "You… I see you heard that."

When he finally looked at me I winked again and shrugged. "Like I said, I'm a superhero. Can't sneak up on me worth crap. I've got that sixth sense thing going on. Comes in super handy when you've got an armful of laundry and a two-foot-tall pipsqueak running around underfoot…"

I had come to terms with the fact that I would never see my daughter again while I was freely floating in the endless void after my death, but that didn't mean that the loss didn't still hurt. The pain I'd been unable to feel as a consciousness knotted up in my chest and formed a huge lump in my throat, tears stinging my eyes.

The floodgates opened their yawning maw and out poured pain like I didn't know I'd have to ever feel. So this was why we forgot everything with each new existence, I thought to myself. So we wouldn't have the pain of losing everyone we knew over and over again. Losing everything that ever mattered lifetime after lifetime. I understood why that would be a good thing, but I didn't realize just how much it would hurt now that I had a body to feel that pain in.

Suddenly there was a pair of strong arms around me, scooping me up and cradling me tightly. "Baby cakes… hey… aw, angelfish, what's wrong? Don scare ya? Forget where ya were? It's ok, you're safe here, nothin'll hurt ya."

I shook my head and sputtered, trying to wipe furiously at my eyes and gulp down more oxygen, but the tears wouldn't stop. Choking and whimpering, I tried my best to explain. "No! Mikey, no. I just… I died. An' I won' ever see my baby again. Won' get t' see her grow up n' I'll miss everything. I miss 'er. I miss 'er so much."

Mikey hummed softly and sat down in the chair, squeezing me tightly and tucking me safely in his arms. "Angel face, I'm so sorry. I'd be broken six ways to Sunday if I lost Don or Leo or Raph. Can't even imagine what that's like. Losin' everything that way."

He rocked me patiently while I sobbed on his neck, and I felt him wave away his brothers once or twice. It was some time later when I finally ran out of tears to cry and I sat up to wipe the tears from my face. Sniffling a bit I huffed a soft chuckle and smiled at him apologetically. "Oh… Mike… I'm sorry, you're soaking wet. Here…"

I used the sleeve of my make-shift cover to wipe at his plastron but his hand closed over mine and ceased my fussing. "Hey, I'm a turtle. Water is kinda somethin' I do. Don't worry about it babe. You ok?"

Laughing and sniffing as I composed myself I nodded at him and continued wiping at my face and eyes. "Yea… I mean, I will be. I'm pretty good at bouncing back from stuff. Just… gotta keep busy til I can work through it. I'll be ok soon, but I'm still hurting about it."

He smiled reassuringly at me and tried his best to perk me up. "Well if ya stay here a while it'll be like you have a buncha kids! Especially after scary movies. Don't tell Raph I told ya but he hates scary movies even more than I do. One time we were watching a really good one and somethin' scared him so bad he chucked a Sai clean through the T.V. Of course I've broken a few too. Like this one time when we were little and we were watchin' this Bruce Lee movie and doin' all the moves with it and I put my foot through the screen. And then there was this other time... Didja know you can break a T.V. with a rubber duckie?"

I giggled and laughed through his stories until my sides hurt, finally prompting him to grin at me warmly and squeeze my hand. "You ok now, baby girl?"

I gasped for air and nodded, replying, "Yeah, I'm ok now. Thanks Mikey. I mean... I feel better. I dunno if I am better but I feel better."

He picked me up and carried me through the lair to the bathroom. "How about ya take a hot shower. Always makes me feel better, and your stuff should all be dry now so you can getcha clothes back on n stuff. Then we'll do somethin' together. That sound good?"

I nodded and hugged his neck tightly. "Thanks Mike. You're the best."

He chuckled and leaned into my face, slowing his walking to nuzzle me and squeeze me again. "Heh, well I am the Mikeynator. Don't worry baby girl. You'll be ok. We'll help ya out." He gently set me down on the cold floor and turned the water on for me. Then with one last bear hug he left and sat down outside the entrance to the bathroom to guard the space for me. Having an open lair with no doors was cool… but as the only female presence I felt a bit exposed and out in the open. I untied the knot keeping me at least somewhat put together and wiggled out of the toga, stepping into the hot water quickly.

I showered quickly, using a little bit of soap in my hair to keep it from getting greasy and making sure to wash the suds out especially well or else risk snarls like I'd never known while I'd been conditioner. I was dressed again in no time and pecking Mikey's cheek with a kiss as I stepped around him. "Thanks for standing watch hun. I'd hate to give one of you a heart attack because I was indecent."

He darkened a little in color but his infectious smile only grew wider. "Aw I think they woulda survived. We'd just hate ta make ya embarrassed. So whatcha wanna do? Videogames? Skateboarding? I could show ya some awesome nunchuck moves. I could make ya somethin' ta eat. OH!" He suddenly started, jumping and looking at me like he'd just hit me with a shuriken. "You haven't had anythin' ta eat yet! Like….. ever! If ya just got here, ya know, ya haven't had anything for your whole life! Geez, girl, I gotta getcha somethin' to eat!"

He scooped me up and hauled me off to their little kitchen, making me squeal and giggle. "Mikey! Mikey, I can walk you know!"

"I know baby girl, but you're so little and light and easy to carry around! Besides, I like carryin' ya. It's like a hug wherever I go!"

"Michelangelo." Splinter's curt tone carried through the space like the crack of a whip and Mikey instantly froze in place with a look of terror on his face. "Our guest is not a toy to be carried to and fro. If she wishes to be carried then you may. But it is disrespectful to pick someone up without permission, my son, unless it is necessary for their safety."

With a wince and a mournful expression he set me down on the ground and took a step back, mumbling his apology. "Sorry Aaliyah."

"Oh! No, Mikey, really it's o-" Splinter cleared his throat, and I didn't even have to turn around to feel the mild disapproval in telling his son that his behavior was acceptable when he had just told him that it was disrespectful. I cleared my throat a little bit uncomfortably before attempting to recover my sentence. "I'm not upset… and… uh… if you would like to carry me around all you have to do is ask."

The old rat nodded and both Mikey and sigh let out a sigh we didn't even realize we were holding in. "Alright baby cakes." He bowed chivalrously and grinned up at me mischievously before asking with an air of dignity, "May I have the honor of carrying a beautiful lady such as yourself to the kitchen?"

I blushed a deep red and covered my mouth with my hands, completely helpless against those baby blues. I giggled nervously and bounced on the spot a little before squeaking out a small, "Of course!" Totally flustered, it was all I could manage but it was enough. I was swept up once again and hauled to the kitchen where Leonardo sat with a cup of tea. He straightened up when he saw me, nodding politely and bidding me good morning. "Michelangelo, why are you carrying her? You're probably making her uncomfortable."

"No way brah! She totally said I could! Isn't that right, angelcakes?"

I laughed and nodded, patting Mikey's shoulder. "He did ask, and I did tell him it was alright. And good morning Leo, by the way. How did you sleep?"

He blinked at me once, turning his head just slightly in confusion and surprise. "Well, thank you. And you?"

"Likewise. I can sleep pretty much anywhere. Floors, couches, chairs, desks… though strangely enough I can't sleep on things that are moving. Cars, trains, planes, etc… just not a thing I can do." As I was talking Mikey set me down carefully on a bar stool and immediately busied himself with making breakfast.

Leo chuckled a little at me and shook his head slightly. "I'll remember that." He then watched Mikey for a moment through slightly narrowed eyes and asked, "You're sure Mikey isn't bothering you? He can be a bit... excitable."

"Oh goodness no. If Mikey was acting any other way I would be terribly concerned. Every Mikey I've ever seen is a bit excitable and it's one of the things that makes him so endearing."

Leo had to blink a little and shake his head with a slight groan. "I'll never get used to the idea of there being more than one Mikey. One is work enough."

"Hey!"

"Leo," I chided, looking at him reprovingly, "that was rather unkind to say about your brother."

"He's heard worse." A sleepy yawn replied from behind me and I turned to see Raphael lumber into the kitchen. I beamed at him and he simply furrowed his eyebrows at me in confusion.

"Good morning! So nice of you to join us, sleepy head!" I chirped cheerfully, pulling out the stool next to mine and scooting mine over just a little to give him room. He eyed me a bit suspiciously but dropped heavily into the seat regardless.

"You always this damn cheerful in th' mornin? Or'd you just drink a whole pot of coffee already with Don?"

I laughed and leaned on the bar, giddy with excitement at the fact that I was really here between the two alpha males, chatting with them. "No, I'm definitely a morning person. I don't drink caffeine as much as possible. It's not that great for your body and honestly it really doesn't do anything for me."

Leo looked at me with interest, snickering a little. "Don't let Donatello catch you saying that or he might prejudge you a little bit. He lives on caffeine."

I nodded sagely and added, "Yeah, that one is pretty well established in the fanon, though really there's not that much evidence in canon to suggest it. Of course, that could be said about a great number of things."

Raphael looked over at me in even deeper confusion. "Fanon? Canon? The hell's that?"

"Oh... right... sorry, I really need to mind the jargon. Remember last night when I was telling you guys that in my original world, you're not real? You're characters? Well, anything that happens in the comic books or the movie or the T.V. series is considered "canon." Uh... the Catholics have a system similar, where things that are officially accepted and such are "Canonized." Everything that isn't "official" is 'non-canon.' Same thing here. But the non-canon things are usually made by people who like whatever it is they're reading or watching. If someone gets an idea that isn't canon, for example... uh... someone thinks that Mikey can really sing well even though it's never shown in anything canon, that is called a 'head-canon.' It's just an idea. Now if almost Everybody that is a fan of the thing has the Same head-canon, it gets called a fanon, because while it isn't actually canon it's practically canon to the fans. Hence, fanon."

Raphael's face scrunched up in mild discomfort and he kneaded his temples. "Too damn early for this."

Mikey, on the other hand, seemed thrilled with the idea. "Oooooh! What's a fanon for me? What do people think about me?"

I scratched my head in thought and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. "Uh… well… there's… Oh, I know. It's a fanon that you are especially vindictive against criminals that target children. And that if you were ever to get a job where you were able to earn quite a bit of money you would use a large portion of it to rebuild orphanages and parks and things for kids."

Leo and Raphael looked at each other in surprise and shrugged. "Huh, I guess I could see that happening. If Mikey didn't blow it all on skateboards and pizza." Leo commented with a wry smile.

"HEY, I'm right here! That totally sounds like a thing I'd do! I wouldn't just blow it all on pizza, Lameonardo." Mikey huffed in return. "Better than incense and some ancient sword you'll never use."

Leo narrowed his eyes at Michelangelo and bristled a little. "I'll have you know that paying respect to the ancient masters is nothing to sniff at. Owning a blade wielded by one of them would be an honor."

Mikey walked two plates over to the counter with a smirk and a roll of his eyes. "Blah blah blah, old stuff and honor. You're so lame, brah. Here you go, angelcakes! Your first meal here in your new home!"

Raphael and Leo both choked a little and sputtered. "Mikey! She ain't stayin' here forever!"

"Mike, seriously, we're helping her out, not adopting her. I'm terribly sorry, miss."

"Mikey don't know when ta shut his trap."

"BOYS, boys, take it easy!" I chided with a merry laugh and pulled my plate a little closer. "Mikey just meant here on your planet. Relax. Sheesh."

Michelangelo gave his brothers a cheekily incredulous expression, trying his best to seem shocked and appalled. "Bros, seriously, listen to the lady. She knows what's up. YOU two just need ta stop makin' assumptions or she'll think you've been thinkin' about it."

I had to cover my grin with the back of my hand at the expression of controlled fury both Raphael and Leonardo gave Mikey as he took an innocent bite of his eggs and looked at them each with a wink. "Mikey, ya shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you." Raphael growled at him as the muscles in his arms flexed powerfully. I wasn't the least bit concerned for my own safety, but swallowed my mouthful of eggs noisily nonetheless. My eyes grew wide at just how massive Raphael was when he was flexing and posturing threateningly at his brother. I felt my stomach do an energetic backflip and to keep from staring I immediately shoveled food into my mouth and stared firmly at my plate.

"Woah, hey, brah, chill. You're freaking out the angelcakes." Mikey replied firmly to Raphael, reaching across the island to squeeze my hand. I looked up in mild surprise at being addressed in such a tension-filled moment, first at Mikey and then up at Raphael who was wearing an expression of mild concern and slight frustration.

"Oh, no no no, I'm alright. Really. I know you wouldn't ever hurt me. You're fine." I assured him patting his forearm and leaning towards him a touch. His face remained guarded, but he grunted in acknowledgement and went back to leaning on the island for just a moment. Deciding he was awake enough to be hungry, however, he soon shifted and pushed himself up to open the refrigerator and pour himself a bowl of cereal the size of my head. I didn't give it a second look, not wanting to make him feel self-conscious, and simply continued munching away on my own breakfast.

"So Miss… Um… what did you used to do for work?" Leo asked politely. I swallowed my bite and smiled at him.

"Teaching. I was a Junior High School teacher."

"Really? You seem so young."

"Yeah, I did a fast-track thing in high school so I had a whole crap-ton of hours already racked up by the time I graduated. I basically had my first year out of the way before I even set foot on a campus, so I'm basically a baby all things considered. I'm just 23, so really I'm not That much older than the kids I'm teaching but I always knew I wanted to teach so it was easy to just go for it. Although…." Sudden realization smacking me in the face, I groaned and leaned over to let my forehead hit the surface before me solidly. "I just realized… I didn't go to school here. I have no degree. I have no licensure. I have to do college all over again. Noooooooooo."

Raphael peered down at me and swallowed his mouthful. "Hey, you ok?"

Groaning a little more for a second I grudgingly lifted my head and placed my chin on the surface in front of me, pushing my plate away with my nose. "Yeah… Just frustrated. I didn't even think to ask for that. I mean… there's a chance I could test out of most of my classes and things, but there's just some things that I won't be able to test out of. Nothing in any education program is going to be skippable, and I know for dang sure that there's no way I can test out of my upper level Chemistry classes. I barely squeaked by when I took it the second time. Gaaaaaaah. So frustrating. I don't even have a high school diploma here. I'll have to take the GED test to even be able to get a reasonable job so I can pay to go to college again so I can be a teacher again. Bleh."

"I'm sorry. That sounds frustrating." Leo commented, tilting his head a little to look at me.

"It'll be fine. Just a lot of hoops to jump through. And I don't want to. The Thing said I had things to do and I asked to come here as an adult so I could hit the ground running but now I can't because technically I don't exist here. There are literally no records of me anywhere. No birth certificate, no driver's license, no social security number, nothing. So I'm just frustrated because I want to get started doing whatever the heck I'm supposed to do here and I'm having the sudden realization that it's not going to be exactly a smooth transition."

"Perhaps there is no need for such things." A wise voice responded from behind me, making us all turn.

"Oh! Master Splinter! Good morning again." I greeted him with a respectful bend at the waist and a smile. He nodded at me and entered the kitchen area smoothly.

"It may be in wisdom that we have been granted this opportunity. For you see, we have no ally on the surface. And one who is unidentifiable even by the authorities may prove to be a most valuable asset to our efforts."

Leo scratched his chin in thought. "I hadn't thought about it that way. No records means no fingerprints. No birth certificate means untraceable. Literally a Jane Doe. Even if you are caught there would be nothing to link them to."

I blinked at them both and giggled a little bit nervously, "Heh, well the idea would be to NOT get caught, right? I mean, ninjutsu is operation from the shadows with the purpose of getting in and out as quickly as possible. Right?"

He blinked at me once before shooting me a reassuring smile. "Of course. We would never purposely endanger you. But just thinking about the possibilities… what special skills do you have?"

Blushing a little, I looked down. "Nothing helpful, I'm afraid. I am pretty good at most housewifery things. Crochet and sewing and cooking and things. I'm a chemist, so I could help Don in his lab. I am decent with a practice sword, in that I can avoid getting hit if I'm up against a beginner/intermediate level student. I know just enough self-defense to get by in a pickle, but not enough to stand any kind of chance in a real fight. I'm pretty flexible and sneaky, and I can BS my way through most anything. I can kinda draw, kinda play the guitar, kinda play the piano, and I'm not terrible with a paint brush. Ummmmm….. and I'm a really good driver. That's about all I've got. I'm basically your average citizen. Not exactly that helpful to a set of ninja masters."

"Not so, Miss Aaliyah. For you are blessed with something that none of us are. You are human, and therefore you may walk freely on the surface without arousing suspicion. And that, my dear, may be far more help to us than any of us can imagine at this time." Splinter responded sagely, placing a hand on my knee. I put my hand over his and he looked up at me with a twitch of his ears. It took me a second, but I remembered all of the stories I'd read where that twitch was usually an indication that his serene demeanor was masking an emotion. Looking in his eyes there was nothing but kindness, so I wasn't sure what was laying hidden there. But figuring I'd learn to read his emotions better with time I shrugged it off and squeezed his hand gently.

"Thanks Splinter. That… That really means a lot. I want to help so badly but I don't know what it is that I'm supposed to do yet. And that's a little frustrating… knowing that you have some kind of destiny or purpose but not being able to see what it is."

His mouth twitched into a soft smile and he nodded. "It is a struggle that we all must face in our lives. But your path will be revealed. You would not be here if it was not to be. So have patience, child, and we shall see."

"Hai, Sensei." I responded with a reverent bow of my head, making his ears twitch again. But he said nothing about it, only continuing to nod as he took his leave of the kitchen. I went to turn back to my food, not wanting to waste anything, only to find Mikey standing immediately beside me with a guitar and an enthusiastic smile. I jumped and squeaked in surprise, clapping my hand to my chest. "Michelangelo! Heaven sakes you scared me to death!"

"Aw, sorry about that baby girl. You just said you play…"

I looked down at the instrument and up at his pouting expression, hands clasped together in front of him. I laughed and accepted it, nodding towards my plate. "I'll play you a little something once I finish that, ok?"

He nodded and whooped excitedly, hugging me and energetically jumping onto one of the bar stools to sit beside me while I ate. Luckily for me he didn't sit there and watch me but instead drummed up a conversation with Leo. It was incredibly pleasant to sit and listen to, especially when it felt as though I was simply blending in with the room while the boys chatted around me. I was about to slip off of the stool to wash my plate when Mikey snatched it out from before me and dropped it in quickly.

Minutes later I was seated in the corner of the pizza couch, singing every song I knew and watching in amazement as they all sat and listened happily without recognizing a single song. I sang ones that I'd written and ones that I'd learned, picking nonsensically as we laughed over the sound of the humming strings. Then they asked me to play them again and this time they joined in, beat boxing and backing me up as I sang them all once and twice more. It wasn't until my fingers were sore that I passed over the guitar, surprised when Leo took it and started to play. And it was then, sitting comfortably with this beautiful family, that I started to see that maybe this all was going to work after all.


	5. Trepidation

"So you guys really haven't been able to make any human friends other than Casey?" I asked incredulously a few hours later after there had been a series of showers and some meditation and chores completed. Back in the living room we all sat comfortably, Mikey and I in the pizza box armchair and the other three brothers sprawled out on the couch and floor.

"Nope. Just him." Raphael responded with a slight shrug. "Everybody else is too scared. We're lucky if we get screamed at and they run away. Been maced plenty, though I'm tall enough that I don't hafta worry about my eyes getting' it usually. Tazed a few times. Stings like a bitch but it's not too bad. Hadta dodge plenty a'stuff bein' chucked at me. Leo almos' got hit by a car once."

My jaw dropped and I turned to look at Leonardo with horror, but he simply shrugged and chuckled. "It's part of the job. It might be thankless but someone has to protect the city.

"But... But how? Why? I mean, granted, I'm sure it's a little startling at first but why would anyone ever taze you? And pepper spray? A CAR? I don't... you saved them. You guys are heroes. That's no way to treat a hero."

Raphael looked at me sideways and regarded me suspiciously again. "You sure you ain't some kinda … nutcase? I ain't exactly the hero type. None of us are. Maybe goodie-two-shoes Splinter Jr. over there is but the rest'a us aren't."

"Raphael. Don't be rude." Leo reprimanded, making Raph sneer.

"If she knows so much about us, she shouldn't be bothered by it. Right?"

Leo glared at his brother and opened his mouth to retort but I cut in first. "No, no. Raphael has a good point. On both accounts, actually. You see, that's exactly why you are so beloved where I'm from. You are relatable. People have a hard time relating to Superman or Batman because they don't have superpowers, and they aren't fabulously wealthy. But there Are people who struggle to do the right thing every day, even when it's exhausting and thankless and even dangerous. And the way you handle that danger is what people love about you. And yes, also, I don't expect Raphael to warm up to me immediately. I expect him to be uncouth and rough to test me and emotionally shove me around a little bit to see what I'm made of. I don't doubt that you'll all be doing something similar, though in your own way, to see if I'm really what and who I say I am."

Leo blinked at me a couple of times before hemming thoughtfully. "I suppose that's a fair assessment. Though we have already had ample evidence that you are telling the truth. I think we all just need a little bit of time to get to know one another a little bit better."

I nodded and wiggled in Mikey's lap to catch his attention, as he was then playing with my hair. "So my turn then. What's your favorite... fruit?"

Mikey tapped his chin. "I dunno. We don't get much of that down here. People don't really throw it out much. Oh! Apples are pretty sweet. There's a buncha apple trees over on the west side a ways. We get those in the fall."

I slowly sat up straight and turned to look back at Mikey with another expression of disbelief and slight horror. "What? You don't... Strawberries? Peaches? Cherries?"

"Like Michelangelo said, unless we specifically order it there's very little fresh fruit we simply happen upon. Apples keep well and they're easy to come by in the fall, so we'd probably have to go with apples." Leo concurred, earning him another look of shock.

"Aw man Leo! You remember that one time there was that truck of fruit n' stuff that fell over and we had so much that we could play real-life fruit ninja? Aw man that was the best, brah. I ate so much I got sick, but it was totally worth it. Man, strawberries are the best. And watermelon. And pears. All of it was so good! But that was years ago. Haven't really had much since Shredder and the whole deal went down."

"Aw hells no. Nope. NOPE! THAT is not happening!" I exclaimed, hopping off of Mikey's lap and making a beeline for their room. "Can I borrow your guitar for a few hours? I've got something I need to fix."

"Aaliyah! Girl, settle down! It's no big deal!" Mikey followed after me and tried to take me by the arm to stop me but I slipped free of his grasp and kept marching.

"NOPE! There might not be anything I can do about how people treat you but I CAN do something about this! I'm fixing this right now!"

"Aaliyah." Leo's grip on my arm was much firmer than Mikey's, forcing me to stop in my tracks and turn to face him. His expression was tender and touched, with a hint of incredulity at my immediate offense to this information. "It's Easter Sunday. Nobody will be up there. Wait until another day and then you can go up for that."

Shocked once again I balked and dropped my jaw at him. "What? Seriously? Easter? I didn't know... Oh gosh... and I just dropped in and... Leo I'm so sorry I've intruded on your home on a holiday..."

He shook his head kindly and guided me back to the couch. "It's not exactly one that we celebrate. There's no need to apologize. Come sit down."

I grimaced and allowed myself to be led to the couch where I sat down between Donatello and Leonardo. "Tomorrow I'll take the guitar and go up top then. There is absolutely no reason for you boys to go without."

"Miss Aaliyah, really, that's very kind of you but we get along just fine." Leo soothed, prompting me to press my lips together tightly for a moment of contemplation. Then he smirked at me and leaned back with an almost cocky swagger and asked, "Do you even know how to get to the surface? Much less find a place where city ordinances allow you to perform on the street for money?"

I scrunched up my face unhappily and sighed. "No. Not a clue. Normally I have a pretty good sense of direction and time but right now I'm completely floundering. When I died it was January, mid-afternoon. When I got here it was dark and apparently it's early spring. I don't know what time it is or where north is or anything."

"It's 7:38 P.M." Donnie offered casually, checking his watch. I chuckled and shrugged in his direction.

"Well there you go. If I had to hazard a guess I would have said it felt like noon-ish. But apparently it's quite a bit later than I thought."

"I could make you a watch, if that would help." Don replied shyly and I grinned at him.

"Oh Donnie, that's so sweet of you but I couldn't impose."

"Hardly. I have plenty of spare parts and it wouldn't take more than an afternoon."

"Dee, really, I couldn't ask you to drop the projects you're working on for something so silly."

"I insist. It would be a nice break from the toaster I'm reassembling. Again." Donnie glanced in Leo and Raphael's direction, both of them shrugging at the silent jab.

I was touched. "Donnie… if… are you sure?" I shifted a little and smiled at the way his eyes darted around a little bit nervously.

"I'm positive."

Grinning at the opportunity to try out his humor, I tilted my head and leaned into him just a little. "Well if you're _positive_ then I guess I'll just have to keep my _ion_ you for an opportunity to repay the kindness."

The pun caught him completely off guard and after blinking at me once he burst into the most adorable fit of giggles I'd ever heard, ending in one of his famous snorts. He clapped his hand over his mouth in mortification but I was already dissolving into a giggle fit myself. "Donatello, you are just the cutest thing!" I proclaimed as I hugged his arm happily. "If you get any sweeter you're gonna give me a cavity!"

"A good drilling would fix that right up." Leo commented casually, flipping through one of the magazines from their little coffee table. I was completely thunderstruck and choked a little bit, fighting back a strangled laugh and clapping my hands over my mouth. He looked up from his magazine and smirked at me, darkening the blush on my face. That sneaky turtle did that on purpose! Mikey was roaring with laughter and even Raph chuckled at his older brother while Don squeaked and blushed almost purple.

"Oh. My. Goodness." I finally managed to squeak, trying my best to get myself together. "I did not see that one coming. And from you no less. Oh geez."

"Whatever do you mean?" He asked, eye ridges raising at me.

"Oh, well, in my universe we only get to see you fighting and leading. So your character is seen as very stoic and no-nonsense and … what's the word I want… hmmmm… sagely, in a way. We don't really get to see any of you just hanging out, and since your characters are as of yet somewhat undeveloped in our perception of your universe there's just not a lot that we know about how you act off the job, so to speak. Now of course there's plenty of speculation, of course, but most people (myself included) would have expected that kind of joke from Raph or Mikey while you sat there and shook your head and pinched the bridge of your nose. I never would have expected that to come from you."

"Aw man girl, Leo drops the BEST ones. He gets me crackin' so bad sometimes I fall over from laughin so hard!" Mikey exclaimed, snickering and shaking his head.

Leo grinned at me over his magazine and added, "Like Master Splinter always says, 'what you know is dangerous to your enemy. What you _**think**_ you know is dangerous to you.' Perhaps you think you know more about us than you actually do."

I nodded humbly and gave him a sheepish little smile. "You're probably right. If this was the 2003 cartoon verse I'd feel a little more sure about things but in this universe I'm afraid I know just enough to be dangerous."

"Hey! Does that mean you know what kinda monsters and stuff we'll be fighting and how to beat them?" Mikey asked excitedly, hurrying over to sit in front of me on the floor. I smiled at him and twirled my finger in the air, indicating he should turn around. He did so obediently and scooted back as far as he could.

"Well, in keeping with Leo's point, I know what other versions of you guys have had to face and I know how they beat them. However, each universe comes with its own set of challenges and badguys. There are some things that are just plain canon, like Casey Jones, but as far as the various monsters there's such a variety of characters even in the established canon it would be difficult to guess what and who you might come up against in this universe." As I spoke I leaned forward and scratched Mikey's shell with my nails, making Mikey moan and groan in the happiest way possible. It made me smile and giggle a little, increasing my efforts and reaching as much of his shell as I could.

"Oh… oh baby girl… oh a little lower. Lower. Gah! Oh baby that's the spot." He moaned, making me blush a little and glance around the room.

"Mikey, shhhh, I can't scratch your carapace if you're gonna make a fuss about it." I chided him lightly, only prompting him to up the volume a little and roll his head back to grin up at me with a dopey smile.

"I can't help it angel face, it just feels so nice! Where did you learn how to do that!?"

Shaking my head I retracted my hands. "Oh you know, just another fanon."

Mikey rolled over and whimpered at me shamelessly, his big blue eyes wide and watery and his bottom lip quivering. "Nooooo baby please don't stop. I'll quiet down a little! Turtlescout honor! Pleeeeeeeease?"

"So, uh, what else you think ya know about us then?" Raphael asked warily, eyeing Mikey as I shooed him gently. I blushed a little bit and looked away, hiding my grin behind my hand.

"Ummmm… Well… you know… I'd really love to sit and tell you every headcanon I've ever heard but there's really not time and some of the theories are absolutely ridiculous and-"

"I like ridiculous! Tell us baby girl! Are there any dirty ones?" Mikey pleaded, folding his arms in my lap and resting his chin on them. My face only grew hotter and at this point I was completely covering my face in shame.

"Nope. Nope. Nope, nope and heck no. I am NOT going down that rabbit hole. Nope. Not happening."

"Whatever it is I'm sure we can handle it." Leo prodded, setting his reading down and leaning forward expectantly. I groaned miserably and peeked at the boys through my fingers.

"Literally all I would have to say is one word about it and every single one of you would skatter like the place was infested with roaches." I insisted, noticing the way Raphael flinched uncomfortably. "My world is incredibly gifted in the creativity department and not all of it is sunny in nature."

"Our lives aren't exactly sunny in nature to begin with. What's the worst that could happen?" Donatello asked, and I eyed him carefully. Out of all of them I felt the most confident that I could explain things without disturbing the other brothers too badly.

"Donatello, please don't answer this question out loud, but what happens roughly between the months of April and May during the natural hormonal cycle of captive and wild terrapins? Specifically if there are several of the species whose chromosomic configuration includes a Y... who find themselves without the presence of a member of their own species who happens to be without a Y chromosome?" I watched Donnie's nose wrinkle and his face scrunch up somewhat painfully, indicating my message had been clear. "Keep that particular fact in mind when I tell you that in order to answer your question completely, I need to inform you that there is an entire sub-genre of artistic endeavors of various natures focused entirely on what the fandom succinctly refers to as 'tcest'."

Donnie jumped up and made several dry heaving sounds, his face contorted in deep disgust and he immediately left the livingroom. "What's got inta him?" Raphael asked, making me bite my lip at the opportunity for innuendo.

"A bigger pill than he can swallow." I replied, fighting desperately to keep my face neutral. "He'll be ok once he washed his brain out a little. But I warn you that if you Really want me to explain to you what I just explained to Donatello, you will each have the opportunity to gag and jump around like he did."

They looked at each other nervously and Leo responded diplomatically, "Perhaps something a little tamer to start."

I nodded and tapped my chin, thinking hard. "Umm... It's pretty well established that... hmmm..."

"Samatter?" Raph asked a little bit darkly, his chest swelling to make himself look bigger. "Outta stories to tell? Probably just guessin' anyways."

That struck a nerve and I glared at him. Oh so he thought I was just making things up? Well. I was going to show him, embarrassment aside. Meeting his eye and cracking my knuckles at him, I sat up a little straighter and cleared my throat. "You know what? I do have some more stories to share. Like the fan consensus that yours is the most impressive dick out of all of your brothers. Leo is into bondage, Mikey is the king of Oral, and Don is the most likely to learn perfect fingering technique." Leo and Mikey both choked on the sodas they had taken a drink of and immediately began a coughing fit. Raph cleared his throat uncomfortably but held my glare firmly. So I continued, having his full attention at this point.

"I also believe that you don't have the patience for traditional meditation because you are a kinesthetic learner and therefore working out is your form of meditation. Your gruff and menacing exterior is your natural defense against those that might hurt you, as yours is the tenderest heart against pain. Your emotions are so huge that if you didn't use anger as an outlet they would consume you. You do not do anything in half measures, and you don't put up with anyone's bull crap. You get frustrated easily because you have difficulty expressing your feelings and that makes you feel inadequate and misunderstood. Which only serves to make you more frustrated. While the most proud out of your brothers of your size and strength, you are terribly conscious of your status as a mutant and you struggle with deeply-seated self-loathing. You see yourself as a monster, unworthy of love and acceptance. But out of all your brothers yours is the deepest and most powerful love if earned slowly and patiently. Your love is like an ocean. Capable of raging storms that can sink the mightiest of ships seeking to conquer it but beneath that surface that is pushed and pulled by every passing breeze the waters run still and unfathomably deep. Maybe deeper than even you know.

Mikey's love is like the wind. Usually refreshing and playful, ever present and gentle and all encompassing, it is capable of whipping up into a gale that can rip houses right from their foundations. Leo's love is like the sun. Warm and rich and lighting everything it touches but far too bright and hot to look at directly. Capable of bringing life as well as death, all it takes is the smallest amount of effort to focus it into a destructive force that can destroy the mightiest of forests. And Donnie's love is like the moon. Always gentle and beautiful, it waxes and wanes regularly but someone who truly understands will know that it never diminishes and never truly fades, but is only eclipsed and hidden by the things that get in the way of its full potential. It will light your way in the blackest of nights and watch over your dreams with the utmost devotion and patience.

I may be new here, and there may be some subtle things of this universe I may not know about, but I know each of you at your core and I love each of you dearly. I know your fundamental strengths and weaknesses and I know your hearts. I know Leo can be a big arrogant and pretentious sometimes the same way I know that despite Mikey's and Donnie's more easy-going natures they are both terrifying when truly angry. I know you may be big and brooding and intimidating, you may posture and threaten and flex, but you would never lay a finger on an innocent. I know what you boys are capable of and I know where your lines are that you do not cross. And more than anything else I love and appreciate every single one of those parts of you boys. I would not lie to you about that. You may not have had any experience with the humans of this world accepting you but you will never have that problem with me."

Raphael by now looked fit to burst and he leapt to his feet. I really hoped that I hadn't crossed a line, especially when he crossed the space in a few short strides and leaned down to get right in my face. "You… You think you know us. You think you can just say those things and we'll just… trust you like that! Like it's that easy! Like ya known us all our lives! You think you know me? Prove it!"

My stomach dropped to have him yelling in my face and my throat dried up but I didn't move away. "Raphael. The only thing that will truly convince you is time. You need to see how I react to different situations and how I treat you and your family and your home when I think no one is looking. I can't just give you a gift or kiss you or make you dinner and earn your trust that way. So the only way that I will be able to prove it would be for you to give me a chance. Give me a little time."

He stood up to his full height and glared daggers at me, but I'd seen this behavior before as a teacher. I knew he was trying to push me to see if I was worth my salt. So I sat there and remained demure when really I was squirming on the inside. Maybe I'd pushed him a little too far. Maybe I'd said too much or too much all at once. But a few moments later Raphael stomped off towards the dojo and I could finally breathe again. I was startled to hear a voice behind me as soon as Raphael had made his way out.

"What… what did you mean when you said that I was like the moon?"

Turning around, startled, Donnie was looking down at me with the most curious expression. "Oh Donnie! I didn't see you there! Um… Moon? Yes. Ok. Moon. Well you see, you work on things a lot in your lab. That takes time and attention. So someone who doesn't understand that your projects are a labor of love and that you work on things for your family, they might see that and think you are just holed up in your lab all the time. But really you're not. You're there working on things that will help your family and help people. The fact that you are wrapped up in a big project has nothing to do with how much or how little you love the people that you could be spending time with instead. So while it may LOOK like your love for those you care about waxes and wanes through different cycles of projects, it really doesn't. Things just get in the way of it showing through outwardly sometimes. That's all I meant by that. And it's kind of fitting because you boys like to operate at night. And since you work a lot at night, and the moon is seen the best at night, I thought it was really clever. I didn't come up with that analogy, I read it online, but I really liked it and it seemed like a good time to repeat it."

He smiled a little bit shyly at me and nodded. "I- It's fitting."

Mikey climbed onto the couch and joined the conversation too with a mischievous smirk. "So what was that about me being the King of Oral?"

I blushed darkly and covered my embarrassed grin with my hand. "Oh my gosh. Mikey. After some practice. It's not something you just- Well actually there are some people who would argue that you would be a natural at it- But That's Not The Point! We mean after you have found a steady partner and everything."

His eyes grew wide and he grinned like I had just given him the best news of his life. "You… You mean I get married?"

My heart utterly melted at the sight of that joyful smile and I couldn't help but reach over to cup his cheek. "I don't know, Mikey. There are so many different verses and versions and possibilities for you that I just plain do not know what your future has in store. I know that you go on many, many adventures and meet hundreds of beings and many of them take a liking to you in the canon. But exactly who or when or where, especially with _**this**_ universe, I couldn't tell you."

He wiggled happily and grabbed my hands anxiously, bouncing in his seat. "But in the canon! Do I get married in the canon!? Baby girl ya gotta tell me!"

My heart almost broke to see exactly how excited he was and knowing that I couldn't honestly tell him 'yes.' I smiled as lovingly and warmly as I could and licked my lips to choose my words carefully. "Mikey, you and your brothers have a very long road ahead of you that is going to involve battles and villains and evil that reaches far beyond this world. It takes you and your brothers a very, very long time to defeat the Shredder. You have many loves and a few love affairs but for the safety of the people that you love, you do not feel comfortable in the canon dragging them into a fight that may ultimately get them killed. You care too much about them to pull them into a life where nothing is constant and there is no guarantee that you and your family will live to see next week. The Canon does follow your adventures for a few years into the future but there are very few canon verses that delve into your lives when you are much older. So the canon does not say whether or not you end up marrying someone eventually. But I know that you live a rich and full and happy life with people that love you and that you love in return. And that you fight like a dragon to defend and protect them."

"What about the rest of us?" Donnie asked quietly, looking as though he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know the answer. "Do we go our separate ways eventually? Do any of us die early?"

SAINW flashed through my mind and I grimaced. "Dee… As far as I know… In the canon there is not one of you that ever dies before the others. But, unfortunately, I'm pretty poorly versed in the comic canon. Mostly what I know is the cartoon verses. And all I can tell you from what I have seen so far is that you all live, fight, and remain until the end of your days as brothers in arms. The cartoon canon does not do too much to dive into what your later years hold. They DO speculate about what _**could**_ happen if certain events were to unfold, but there is no real canon ending for your story. There are fanons about who each of you should end up with, ranging from various configurations of you boys with April to other canon characters to characters that the fans create especially for you to be with. But the canon is not clear about how your final years go. That is not to say that there are some canon AUs that do have endings, not all of them pleasant… especially for you it seems… but in the traditional canon verses I do not believe that there is any set 'permanent' spouses or lovers or living locations or anything like that. And because this is like no canon verse I have ever seen, really I'm stumped at that one."

"What do you mean, 'especially for Don'?" Leo asked, visibly alarmed.

"What's gonna happen to Dee?" Mikey asked, squeezing my hands with wide eyes and a defensive scowl. Donnie looked especially pale, and shifted in place a little bit as though considering leaving but unable to uproot himself from the place he was standing.

"There's… things… unpleasant things that several verses have brought up as possible future events…" I stammered, dreading having to reveal what terrible things had been done to Don. And the other brothers. It hurt my heart just thinking about it.

"Aaliyah, for the safety of our brother, you have to tell us. We have to know what might be coming so we can be ready for it." Leo prompted, scooting forward and looking at me intently.

I sighed and kneaded my temples with my fingers. "Alright, but just be aware, these are all only possibilities. Things that may or may not happen. There is no guarantee that any of this is going to come true in this universe. Okay? And please don't shoot the messenger either. I didn't write any of the canon. I'm just a fan."

"We got it angelcakes. We just wanna know so we can keep the Don-man safe." Mikey prompted, squeezing my hands reassuringly. I nodded and took a deep breath to clear my head and then started to explain all of the stories I could remember. I covered everything from SAINW to Turtles Forever, the IDW world, and several of the more dramatic happenings in the 2012 verse. At some point Raphael joined his brothers in listening to me talk but I didn't notice him until he'd growled at the happenings in the IDW universe.

Leo rubbed his head and sighed heavily once I'd finished. "Yeah, all of those sound like things Donatello would do. And given that they've happened before then there's a reasonable possibility they might happen again."

"However, I must note that it seems each of these canon atrocities are isolated to their respective universes. While the characters remain constant and their respective personalities remain, their separate events don't seem to bleed from one universe into another. The 'Turtles Forever' movie aside." Donatello mused thoughtfully.

"This is true." I added, gesturing at Don. "So far as I am aware, there isn't a SAINW equivalent in the IDW verse or in any previous incarnations, and definitely not in the 2012 universe. Likewise, the unfortunate chain of events leading up to the most recent life-threatening injury sustained to Don's shell in the IDW universe hasn't happened in any of the other universes either. But things like the Kraang and other intelligent and sometimes-not-so-friendly beings from other worlds ARE a reoccurring theme throughout several of the canon verses, so you can likely expect to meet characters like Professor Honeycut and the Triceratons and other characters like them in the future."

"Alright. So ya got us all freaked out for nothin'." Raphael grumbled, glaring at me.

"Not necessarily, Raph. If there's one reoccurring theme here, it's that Donatello seems prone to serious bodily harm while you and I seem to get more mind-control type abuses. Mikey seems equally hit by physical and emotional trauma. Master Splinter seems to be mostly prone to physical injury." Leo replied to his bulky brother, turning to face him. "We can learn from the trials of our counterparts and how They overcame them so that when we face our own trials we can overcome them as well. It keeps us informed about what's likely to come."

"Oh… and… I guess it might be helpful for me to tell you about the Transformer's series of Michael Bay films… because he's the producer of your universe, he'll have a bit of say as to the types of interactions that you'll have with this universe and the types of crap you'll be facing. Basically… lots of metal and lots of explosions. Literally… so many explosions. I don't know what his thing is with blowing stuff up but that is his signature. Really heavy emphasis on metal as an aesthetic and explosions everywhere. That and the sexualization of women. He does that a lot too. He's kindof a misogynistic turd that way. For example… Mikey, your treatment of April was kindof bordering on the not cool. It was just a liiiiiiiiiiittle too much. It was endearing to watch because we know your character and your personality and how much you just love making friends and being close to them but even for your character it still came off and kinda creepy."

Raphael smacked Mikey upside the head and growled at the youngest brother. "See? I told ya, ding dong."

Leo nodded and rolled his eyes a little at Mikey's pitiful expression at Raphael, catching my eye and inching just a little closer. "So what else do we need to know about this Michael Bay?"

I explained the differences of their Shredder's suit to the other versions of Shredder and took about 20 minutes to explain the first two Transformer's movies to them, comparing the technical formatting of the characters to their Shredder and how Bay had influenced the design and function of him as a player in this world. Donnie in particular was terribly fascinated by this round of storytelling, asking dozens of questions about the suit's design and how it functioned while Leo kept up equally as many questions about his fighting and possible weaknesses. I answered their questions as well as I could but still felt guilty that I couldn't answer them as well as I was sure they would have liked. Finally I couldn't take the looming inadequacy anymore and sighed heavily, dropping my head in my hands.

"Hey, Aaliyah, baby girl, you ok?"

"Probably asked her too many goddamn questions, numbnuts."

"No, no, I'm sorry." I apologized, looking up through my fingers. "I just… I wish I could tell you everything. I wish I had an Achilles Heel I could reveal to you or some kind of cheat code that you could use that would work every time. I just feel so useless because I don't have anything super helpful to share."

"What are you talking about? You have been incredibly helpful already and you've only been here 16 hours." Donatello corrected incredulously. "We have a better idea already of what's to come than we've ever had."

"Donnie's right. You've given us valuable information and we've only just scratched the surface. My only concern at this point is that… with as knowledgeable about our universes as you are, if Shredder ever found out…"

"Nobody's gonna find out anything, not on my watch. I dare Shredder to come to our house again." Raphael spit out, cutting Leo off with a slight growl

"Yeah! Nobody's gonna hurt our baby girl! We gotchu covered, sweet thing!"

Eyes wide, my hand slowly slid down my face to cover my mouth. "Oh no… I… I'm putting you guys in danger by being here then. I can't… I need to leave then."

Mikey yipped and snatched me up, cradling me in his arms. "No! Angelcakes! You can't leave! You just got here! What about us cookin' together and I was gonna ask you to be on my album and we were gonna have sleepovers and cake and pizza and soda and you can't leave!"

Leo swatted at Mikey, smiling reassuringly at me. "What Mikey means is, we're always in danger. Shredder can't be any more obsessed with finding and killing us if he doesn't find out about you. He doesn't know that you exist, and with a little turtle luck he won't have to. So for now, until we can figure out a better solution, the safest place for you to be is here. Shredder won't find you here."

"And with my new and improved security systems, we should have enough advanced notice even if he does manage to locate our home to get out, still preserving your secret." Donnie added, shyly catching my eye. "That is, if you want to stay. We would never keep you hostage here against your will. N-not that I'd exactly suggest you go running about the streets of New York City, since you're new here and don't know your way around. N-N-Not that you can't find your way around! I'm sure you have an excellent sense of direction. I just mean that until you become familiar with the city it might be unwise to go alone without an escort. Not an Escort! That – That wasn't what I meant!" Donnie was beginning to grow panicked at his fumbling with his words and it was so difficult to keep a straight face while he tripped over his tongue. But I managed to maintain my demure expression.

Looking up at him through my eyelashes, quirking my mouth just a little into a suggestive smile, I asked innocently, "Are you suggesting that you would like to take me around your city and show me around personally?"

"N-No! Well, yes, but… you see, it's more complicated than that. You see we can't really go out during the daylight hours. But you knew that of course, how silly of me. It's just that if I were to take you up to the surface at night it wouldn't be helpful to you because it's been proven that landmarks are more difficult to recognize when only seen in either dark or light and then you're looking for them with the opposite lighting. Not that you wouldn't be able to recognize the landmarks because you had a New York City where you were from and I'm sure that there will be some similarities. But being from different dimensions and different worlds the likelihood of the two cities being identical is laughably low and the differences might confuse you. A moonlight tour of New York might help you to identify the differences and keep you from losing your way. Not that the amount of light reflected from the moon has anything to do with the tour but if there happens to be a full moon then it might help you to see better!"

"Dee…" Raphael was kneading his temples, ready to drag his brother out of the room to save him from his embarrassment, but I wanted to see if I could intervene and save the conversation. Maybe show off just a little in the process, too.

"I'm not sure if the lunar phase is waxing or waning here but it was a waning gibbous when I left my planet. And while a higher percent of reflected solar radiation would likely allow for a higher visual field and therefore greater retention of detail for future navigation I feel obligated to mention that my past residence has never been in this city. I did live in Maryland for a little while but the majority of my past lifetime was spent in the western United States. I have no prior experience with New York and therefore have nothing to compare your city to. That being said, your offer is one that I would happily accept any day."

Donatello broke out into the biggest and silliest smile I'd ever seen. It was too much and I started to laugh, leaning back to look up at Mikey. "OH my gosh he is so gosh darned adorable!"

Teasingly, Mikey poked me in the side, making me squeak and squirm. "I thought I was the adorable one!"

"You are, but he's adorable too." I replied, winking at Donnie and giggling even harder when Don't face turned almost black with how hard he was blushing. With Donnie a stammering mess I turned to Leo and gave him my brightest and warmest smile. "Thank you. You have been incredibly kind to me and I will never be able to repay you for allowing me to stay here in your home until we can figure out what my place here in this world is. I am deeply humbled and honored that you would do so much for a stranger such as myself."

"You aren't a stranger here anymore angelfish! You're our new best friend! We're going to have the BEST time!" Mikey cut Leo off and squeezed me tightly, making my eyes bug out for just a second and then dissolve into giggles.

"Mike! Mike... can't breathe! Little softer honey!"

"OH!" He pulled his arms away with a little jump so I could suck in some air, carefully replacing them around my middle and giving a light squeeze. "How's that? Better?"

I put my hands on the outsides of his elbows and pressed in on them, letting him squeeze a bit tighter until it was just almost uncomfortable. "There. That's about right for a nice, tight squeeze. Any harder than that and you'll have to haul me to the Needle Room so Don can tape up my ribs."

"Got it."

Leo cleared his throat, jumping back in to the conversation. "We're happy to have you here. Splinter has already given you his blessing to stay as long as you like. And given your present situation, I'd recommend that you stay at least for a little while until we can best decide if it would be better to have you completely invisible on the surface or if you should have some kind of identification."

"Oh, yes, and since you'll be here for a little while we should probably ask if there is anything that you require. We don't have any real funds to work with for anything substantial but we should have most anything you might need." Donnie added, gesturing around at the lair.

"But anything you need baby girl, we can make it happen."

I tapped my chin a couple of times and looked around. "Well... as far as hygene is concerned probably just a few essentials should cover it. I'll need some kind of brush or comb, a toothbrush... um... conditioner would be nice but as long as one of you can braid hair or would be willing to learn how to braid hair I can probably live without it. I'll probably need to figure out something for some more clothes, but I'm assuming there's a kind of donation-type place I could go to for that. A razor of some kind would be nice, but I can survive without it. Aaaaaaaaaaaand..." I counted the items on my fingers and thought long and hard about what I would absolutely need so as not to put any undue strain on the generosity of this family. "Probably just somewhere to sleep. A designated spot of some kind where I won't be in the way."

"You can sleep in my bed!" Mikey blurted out, making the three other boys roll their eyes and reply in unison 'shut up Mikey.'

Leo furrowed his eye ridges and turned his head to the side, confused. "Really? That's all you need?"

"I thought girls needed all kinds-a shoes 'n make-up n crap." Raphael commented gruffly.

Laughing, I shook my head. "Needs verses wants. I'm only concerned about needs right now. Maybe we can worry about wants later but for now those are the essentials that I will be floundering without."

"Brush, toothbrush, hair conditioner, razor, bed. That's all?" Donnie asked, jotting down the list.

"Should be."

"After dinner we'll be heading out on patrol. We should be able to find those items for you by the end of the night. Short of the bed, perhaps. We'll have to figure out some kind of slightly more permanent solution for that." Leo offered, looking around as though to find me some kind of alcove in one of the walls.

Looking down sheepishly I giggled and leaned back into Mikey. "Just need a couple blankets and a pillow and I can sleep wherever you wanna put me. I don't want to be in the way."

"Given your aspect ratio compared to the useable square footage of our home I would hardly consider you capable of being unworkably 'in the way' of any of our regular activities." Donnie countered, making me grin sneakily.

"Really? You've already calculated my aspect ratio?"

Donnie squeaked and jolted, holding his hands up innocently. "No-no-no-no! I was just making a rough estimate! I'm- I didn't- That would require a set of specific and accurate measurements that I do not have at this time. I was just estimating."

Giggling and prodding him even further, I asked with a cheeky grin, "At this time? You mean you plan on having them in the future?" Donatello blushed fervently and started to stammer his way through some kind of explanation but Raphael just sighed and reached around behind Donnie's head, clapping his hand over the lankier brother's mouth and putting him in a pseudo-headlock to drag him out of the room. I heard Raphael mumble something under his breath to Donnie, and knowing what I knew about the two of them I didn't have a hard time guessing what it was even though I couldn't hear it.

_Don't fight it. You'll thank me later. _

The glare I earned from Raphael over his shoulder, however, cooled my good humor and made me shift a little in Mikey's lap. _Woops. Probably pushed that a little too far. I'll have to tell Don later that I knew what he meant and I was just teasing him. I hope I didn't embarrass him too much. _

_And I really hope I didn't piss Raphael off…_


	6. Impressions

_This chapter is written from Raphael's point of view, and then from Leonardo's point of view. I thought having an interlude chapter or two might help to shed some insight on this family and the changing dynamics of it. Next chapter will be Mikey and Donnie. _

* * *

_Nope. I don't want her here. Not one bit. Gimme another berzerker like Case any day of the week or even another zen guy like Leo. Hell, I'd even take another goof like Mike. But it had to be a girl. Damn the Universe must hate my guts. Turtle Luck pulling through once again. I'll admit, I felt kinda bad when Mikey and Don first brought her in. Freezin' cold and purple lips and shaking so bad you'd think Mikey had been trying to get money to fall out of her back. We couldn't just leave her out there. But then she got all warmed up and started to talk and it all went downhill from there. Knowing things about us that none of us had ever told her. An ally we never knew about until she dropped in on us. Knowing us since we were kids. Long hair and big eyes and just immediately treating us like we're people instead of freaks. Hell, this chick even warmed up to us faster than- _

**_WHAP. WHAP, SMACK, WHA-WHAP. _**

_I don't want her here. Not with the way she looks at us. Especially Don. The kid's got smarts but he's as dumb as a box of rocks sometimes. He doesn't know what that smile means. The trouble it brings. Sometimes I think I'm the only one who understands that we can't have that. The smiles and the stupid jokes and the blushing. Makes me sick. Doesn't everybody else remember all the trouble we've had with people? People are bad news. Shredder is worse, and the Foot are a bunch of thugs that need to be stopped, but getting involved with people is still bad news. Casey is the only one we've been able to trust with our secret in this crazy town. Till now anyways. _

_I've been personally chased up, over, around, and under New York more times than I can count. Through the bay and the rivers and sewers until I was ready to drop from exhaustion. People don't give up so easily. And I've got the scars to prove that those Kapa Hunters got trickier and trickier to the point where we each almost got caught a couple of times. At that point we had to skip town. Head up north to Casey's family's old farmhouse and stay there until the head hunting died down. Some bad things happened because of the Shredder while we were gone, and it took months of blood and sweat and tears, mostly Mikey's, to get things back to the status quo. So when a human drops out of nowhere, claiming to know all about us because she's from a different planet... I can't help but stay a little suspicious. _

_And who does she think she is anyways? Talking about oceans and being frustrated and self-loathing. Like she knows anything about anything. Who is she to smile at me... at us... like she knows. Like she cares. The only human who ever cared like that was April and that got her killed. _

**_WHAP WHAP. SMACK. WH-WH-WHAP. _**

_We should have been able to save her. Hell, we could have run faster, jumped higher, kicked harder. She should have never gone alone. It was stupid. And I was stupid enough to think she'd get out like we told her to. Get out of the danger zone. She knew about the gas. Knew it was deadly. Knew it was suicide. I should have known she wouldn't leave. But I didn't. I was young and stupid and I couldn't get her to the damn hospital in time. _

_There was so much blood. _

_Blood on MY hands. Because I couldn't save her. _

**_WHA-WH-WH-WHA-WH-WHAP. WHAP, SMACK. SMACK. _**

_And now this Aaliyah chic thinks she can just drop in and act like she cares and help us out and everything's gonna be all hunky-dory. Well have I got news for her. It won't be. And I'm gonna make sure she knows it. She's gonna know just how much I don't want her here so she can run away and forget all about us. Leave before she twists Don around her finger any more. The fool. Don't a blind fool and he doesn't even know it. But I do. I know it because I was one once and I won't let her break him like that. He may hate me for it but It's for his own good. He'll understand someday. _

_Makes me sick. Sick to know what she's doing with all those giggles and grinning at us all the time. Like she's just so damn happy to be here. Watching us all the time like she still can't believe we're real. Being so damn happy to do anything she gets asked to do, even the stupid stuff. She'd probably take my chores for a day if I asked her. Except the crap I'd get from Leo and the Hashi aren't worth the risk. She's even sitting down with Splinter and talking to him about stuff all the time and Dad seems HE's just as happy she's here as she is. But I know better. She's just happy she's got everybody fooled. Well let me tell you, missy, you aren't fooling me. No way. I know better. _

_I know better than to fall for all those nice words and her pretending to get us. Looking so concerned about us. Insisting on keeping out of the way like she's actually trying to be considerate of us. Probably just pretending and she's actually scared out of her mind. Guessing. Reading us and making guesses. Leo always did say I was an easy read. Well... If she is scared then she does a good job of keeping a lid on it. The way she stared me down... And she didn't freak out at breakfast when I pummeled Mikey this morning for stealing my food. She looked happy to see I was up. Again. Just like every damn morning. She gives us all the same cheerful smile no matter what time in the morning it is and always asks how we slept. Like she cares. And the way her whole face lit up when we were talking about working out together... _

Raphael slammed his fists into the punching bag angrily and snarled at the sting. He cursed himself for getting caught up on such petty little things and letting his guard down. Laying into the leather with double the ferocity he had been exerting he let out his frustrations with Leo for listening to her crazy stories and actually talking about strategies like they were going to have to face these ridiculous monsters in the future. He hammered out his frustration with Mikey for trusting her so easily and letting her be all over him like they'd been best friends for years, and with Donnie for getting flustered by her banter. But mostly he was frustrated with himself for letting his guard down. How could he protect his brothers from her wiles if he was starting to go soft already?

_It's not like I had a choice. She's been getting too cozy with Donnie and I had to do something. Anything to keep her from twisting him around her finger and breaking his heart. So I had to offer to help her work out more. I had to. Had to do what was best for my brother. No woman is gonna go breaking Don's heart if I can do something about it. Not on my watch. I gotta look out for my brother. Keep him safe. Watch his shell. So maybe that means I have to bite the bullet and spend some time with her. Good. Maybe I can figure out what she's really doing here. Figure her out. See what she really wants. Seems like I'm the only one interested in figuring out what's really going on. See what's really happening behind those blue-green eyes of hers. _

He ripped into the old punching bag, tattered and sporting more patches than original material, until his strength was spent and he had to lean over and support himself on his knees while he panted and huffed from the workout. Suddenly he straightened up and jerked his head towards the hallway. There she was, leaning on the concrete frame, watching him silently. He narrowed his eyes, looking for even the smallest hint of judgment or ill intent. Looking for any indication that she was trying to find a weakness or watching him with masked horror. But he couldn't find it. All he could see was wonder, though the longer he looked the more her awe took on a tone of sadness.

Raphael snorted. Shook his head. Looked up again, but she was gone. He kicked at the punching bag violently to snuff out whatever was happening in his head and chest. Deciding he wasn't quite exhausted enough yet, he picked up right where he'd left off, trying to drown out the unmistakable feeling of being understood.

_Who does she think she is?_

* * *

_Breathe In. _

_Breathe the energy of the Universe. Feel your lungs expand with purpose and fill your body with Order and Clarity. _

_Breathe Out. _

_Exhale all that is negative that clouds your mind. Frustration. Anger. Prejudgement. Haste. Allow them to flow from your body to leave your- _

"I'm tellin' ya Angelfish, Leo gets so deep in meditation sometimes there's nothin' I can do to break him! Watch this!"

Leo inwardly sighed but continued his meditation unfazed. He could hear as much as feel his brother approach, his energy alive and buzzing with mischief. Even with his eyes closed he was plainly aware of every face and gesture and wiggle Mikey directed his way. Aaliyah giggled a little, sounding muffled from behind her hands. After a few minutes of Mikey's antics he prompted her to take a turn to try to break Leo's concentration. Inwardly frowning but outwardly remaining serene, Leo braced for what might come.

But instead of participating she walked over smoothly and pulled Mikey away. Tension Leo didn't realize had built up in his shoulders released slowly as their footfalls grew quieter with distance. Chiding himself for allowing his peace to be disturbed, he went back to clearing his mind and centering his focus.

_Breathe In. _

_Breathe Out. _

It didn't last long, however, as he soon became aware of Aaliyah's presence reentering the meditation space. Curiosity paused his efforts to tune out the world around him as she settled down on the floor next to him. She was trying her best to be quiet but to a highly trained ninja warrior in a meditative state it was as though she was wearing a megaphone. Every rustle and movement was perfectly clear to him, and what else seemed perfectly clear was the calm, slow, curious way she was moving. She had no intention to disturb him, only to watch him patiently and look him over. He could feel her eyes like a delicate pair of hands ghosting over his body. She shifted again, her eyes still warming his body with slight self-consciousness, and then she fell perfectly still.

No longer aware of her gaze burning hot trails over his flesh he chanced a look to the side and found Aaliyah mimicking his pose, her face neutral though plainly concentrating. His lips quirked into a smile. _She's meditating. She's trying to meditate with me. It has been a while since I was joined in meditation._ He closed his eyes again, smiling slightly, and waited with muted curiosity to see what would happen.

Pleasantly surprised, she stayed in place. She measured her breathing to match his and remained completely motionless for about 30 minutes. Finally Leo opened his eyes and looked over at her properly. He normally wouldn't dare to look her over so blatantly but her continued even breathing and the peacefully concentrating expression she wore made him feel brave enough to study her face for a few moments.

Her long strawberry-blonde hair was swept out of her face neatly in a type of partial braid he was sure Mikey could have named, darker eyebrows and an average length set of eyelashes that curled up at the ends. She was smiling just a little and he wanted to ask what it was for but didn't know if he should disturb her yet. Stoically he kept his eyes from dipping any lower than her pronounced collar bones, shifting his bulk just slightly to more smoothly rouse her. Leo could tell by her energy, her chi, that she never truly achieved a meditative state, helping to stem the feeble guilt he felt at resting his hand on her shoulder. She jumped in surprise, but grinned up at him nontheless.

"No one has taught you how to meditate, have they?" It was more of a statement than a question, and Aaliyah's sheepish grin was confirmation enough without her needing to speak a word.

"I did have a teacher in high school walk us through some guided meditation once. It was right before an AP test and she wanted us to have our minds clear so we could focus on reviewing. She played some soft music and told us to imagine the number 10 in our minds. She said we needed to give it shape, give it form, give it color, texture, even a smell. Then we had to go through the number, like actually step through it. Then we did the same with the number 9, then 8, and the rest all the way down to zero. After we stepped through the number 0 we walked through a bunch of scenes, picturing everything she described in our minds. We went on a journey that started in a forest, then a beach, then the forest again, and finally to end we all stepped through a gate and shut it behind us. When we turned around in our minds we were to imagine ourselves back in the classroom and open our eyes. When I try to meditate, I just go back to that journey and redo those same steps. Though, the forest and the beach and the numbers are different every time."

"That's not bad practice for learning to focus your mind and forget the distractions around you. But for true meditation you must clear your mind of all distraction."

"Yeah, I know. I've seen you and Splinter do enough meditation that I understand the concept of meditation well enough." She smiled sheepishly again and shifted a little in place. _She's worried that I'll think poorly of her because the cartoons of us on her world have shown us meditating. There's no need for that, but good that she recognizes the sacred nature of it._ "It's the application I have a little bit of trouble with. I love the stillness and the quiet and just sitting to breathe... but that's because it gives me room to think. Not exactly the purpose of meditation."

There was a twinge of pity for her in his chest, prompting him to scoot himself so he could look at her more fully. "The purpose of meditation is to help us center our focus and find peace within ourselves. You have just been uprooted from your home, your family, and now you're here in a whole new dimension with beings you never thought really existed. It's understandable that you would have a lot on your mind. It will take a bit of time to adjust and then we can work on finding peace and balance within you. For now, if you would like to join me for meditation it would be alright for you to use that time to think about everything that has happened. I'm sure you could use the break from Mikey."

Leonardo couldn't stop the grin from splitting his face as hers completely lit up. Her smile was so genuine and infectious. But it quickly turned to mild embarrassment as her cheeks reddened and her gaze turned downward to the floor between them. "Mikey's not any trouble, but that's sweet of you to offer. I couldn't interrupt your meditation time though. I know how important it is to you. I'd love to start joining you and your brothers when you all gather for morning meditation but I couldn't interrupt your personal time."

He grinned slyly and chuckled. "You just did 30 minutes ago, didn't you?"

Her blush deepened and she shifted uncomfortably, embarrassment keeping her face locked in that same sheepish grin he was starting to come to like, her eyes trained fiercely on the paint splatters on the concrete. "I'm... I'm sorry. That was very rude of me. Mikey was trying to come back in to bother you again and I told him that if he didn't stop then I'd leave and come meditate with you. He tried calling my bluff so I got up and came in here. I'm sorry for intruding."

He laughed at her, Mikey confirming the story by poking his head around the corner wearing a very sorry expression. "Aaliyaaaaaaaaah... baby doll... I promise I won't bug Leo any more... today... will you come out and play Mario Kart with me? Pleeeeeeeeeeease?

She giggled at him and nodded happily, though she held up one finger. "Just a minute Mikey. How about you get it all set up for us and I'll be right there."

Michelangelo's pitiful expression perked up immediately. "OK!" He flashed her a toothy grin and pointed a pair of gun fingers at her, clicking as he pretended to fire them at her. "I'll be waiting for you, beautiful. Don't be too long, or I'll miss you!"

Aaliyah snorted in good humor and wiggled her fingers at him as he vanished. Her grin quickly faded into a softer, warmer smile as she turned back to Leo. "Could I ask you something?"

He cocked an eye ridge, smirking a little at her. "Yes, he is actually always like that."

She laughed heartily, shaking her head, and Leo chuckled. There was a dull ache in his arms as he watched her hair swing and wag with her movements, wanting to reach out and feel it dance through his fingers, but he didn't betray even so much as a twitch to suggest his desire. "No, no, not that. I know Mikey's always been like that, such a sweet thing. No, I was going to ask a favor."

Leo nodded and tilted his head to the side. "Of course. What can I do for you?"

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, choosing her words carefully, and then took a deep breath and leaned forward. "You are very honorable and chivalrous. You are tactful and reserved and chose your battles carefully. Many times you hold your tongue for the sake of respect and kindness. So I need to ask... you would tell me if I was becoming an inconvenience or if I was overstepping in any way, right?"

He blinked at her question. _What is she getting at? Does she think she's overstepping by asking a favor? Does she think she's already overstayed her welcome? If Raphael has been giving her a hard time I'm going to-_ "Yes, of course I would."

She nodded sucked in a deep breath. "Good. I was hoping you would. I don't want you to hold your tongue around me. I... I am like you in a lot of ways. I pride myself on my tact and my careful wording of things so as not to offend, but I do have a little bit of a hard time saying what really needs to be said because I spend so much time skirting around the issue. I know that's a problem I have. I had enough time to think about it while I was in limbo, but trying to fix it might be a little bit more difficult than just recognizing that I need to speak my mind more. So I am asking you, as the leader, to please be straightforward with me because if you can be perfectly honest with me then hopefully I can do the same in turn. I promise I won't take any unnecessary offense, I'm really a very understanding person. Is that... something you can do for me? As my friend?"

He blinked at her a couple of times, taking in her words. _How hard must that have been. That waiting, completely alone. It's commendable to recognize and be able to admit where you have struggles. Maybe that's something we can help her with, if she wants to change that._ "Of course. Each of us are honest and straightforward, though some more gracefully than others. You'll have to be patient with Donatello, especially. He can be fairly technical in the words he uses and even we don't often understand him. He really does try to be as straightforward as he can be but some of it gets lost in translation."

Aaliyah giggled and shook her head again, giving him an almost parental look that made the corners of his mouth turn down just slightly. "Donnie I can understand. Even through his stammering, I get most of his jargon. It's you and Raphael that I worry about. You put up with a lot of what you shouldn't have to and Raphael buries a lot of what he shouldn't have to under his anger. I'll learn to read Raph eventually, I'm usually pretty good at that, but you especially have this super stoic thing going on where you try to control your emotions. And while it's commendable that you do so, it does make you particularly difficult to read. So in lieu of me being able to tell whether or not I've done something I shouldn't have, I'm telling you expressly that if I'm ever in the wrong, if I ever become and inconvenience or if I'm not pulling my fair share of the weight in this family I need you to come talk to me about it. I'm not going to be offended, I'm not going to be upset. I'm really easygoing but I am also really forgetful. I'll be grateful for the reminder. There's no need for you to tolerate anything I do if it bothers you."

Leonardo nodded, quirking a smile at her. "I appreciate that. It's nice to have someone around who has enough sense to welcome correction. The brothers are usually slightly less than enthusiastic about being reminded of things they've forgotten."

"I can imagine." She replied, grinning. "So you'll come and talk to me if there's ever a problem?"

"Yes, I will."

She rolled onto her knees quickly and hugged him around his neck, surprising him. It wasn't often he was so enthusiastically received, and it took a moment for Leo to return the embrace. It was nice. The tickling hair that brushed against his cheek smelled like their soap and the floral conditioner they'd lifted from an open bathroom window, as well as something soft and warm and feminine. When he wrapped his arms around her in return he put one hand up to the back of her neck, daring to try the feel the 10,000 fine strands of amber gold against his rough and calloused hands. He gently weaved his fingers through the cascade under the pretense of smoothing the strands down, freezing guiltily when she started to chuckle against his shoulder.

"Um... what's so funny?" He asked nervously, immediately detangling his fingers and pulling back.

She grinned at him warmly and tried to stifle her mirth. "Leo, you know you can just ask, right?"

Stiff as a board and incredibly uncomfortable, he cleared his throat and shifted in place. "Whatever do you mean?"

Her face falling into a deadpan expression she blinked at him once. "Seriously. Already? I just asked you not three seconds ago to be straight with me and we're already playing this game?"

Shamefaced, Leo looked down and hoped the burn of his cheeks wasn't too noticeable. "I'm sorry, that was inappropriate of me."

Aaliyah took his hand and pulled gently, guiding his gaze carefully back up to meet hers. "Leo, I know you're curious about hair. All of you boys are. I knew it even before Mikey asked about it a few days ago. There's nothing inappropriate about wanting to play with it. What's inappropriate is trying to hide it. I need you to be honest with me and I need to know that you will be honest with me even when you don't want to be. So let's try this again. Leo, you know you can just ask, right?"

Now deeply ashamed, he wanted nothing more than to shrink into his shell and pretend he wasn't home. _But as the leader, I have to own my actions and own the consequences._ He nodded and swallowed thickly, eyes dancing over her expectant face. _Better just get this over with._ He cleared his throat and winced just a little when his voice squeaked a bit from nerves. "Honorable Miss Aaliyah, would- uh- would you allow me the opportunity to touch your hair?"

She stifled the giggled bubbling up in her throat, clearing her own just a little. "I don't know who this 'Honorable Miss' is but of course you can touch my hair."

She turned her back to Leonardo, scooting backwards until she bumped into his legs. He balked just a little, being so suddenly presented with the whole of it and free permission to have at it. He swallowed thickly, opening and closing his fingers a few times before carefully reaching up and brushing his hand over the top of it. It was smooth and cool to the touch, rippling like silk under his hands. He petted it a few times, marveling at how there could be so much of it. Then carefully his fingers dug in and lifted a chunk of it up, the strands fluttering back down to her back as they slipped through his enormous fingers. He was completely transfixed, finally growing bold enough to lean forward and inspect it more closely. He picked up a handful and turned it over to inspect the ends, choosing one single strand and separating it from its companions. He could feel it in his fingers, feel the tension on it, but he could only see it where the light caught it and made it glimmer and sparkle.

"Amazing." He breathed, smoothing the strand back down and gathering up another handful to brush the ends over one of his fingertips. Aaliyah giggled and shifted in front of him, the motion making the whole mass shift and sway. But the sound managed to pull him out of his reverie and he dropped the strands back into place. "Thank you. Your hair is beautiful."

She turned back around and blushed, looking down in embarrassment. "Oh, thanks. The conditioner has been very helpful. My hair would be a wreck without it. Regular soap is pretty hard on it."

He tilted his head to the side, eye ridges furrowed. "Isn't there a kind of soap that's just for hair? Uh... Shampoo?"

She nodded and stood up, hearing Mikey start to call from the other room. "Yeah, it's called shampoo."

"Why didn't you ask for that when you were listing the things you needed? Or... did you... and we just forgot it?"

"No, no. I didn't list it because I can get by without it. My hair isn't loving it, but it's ok. The conditioner helps and I didn't want to put any undue strain on you guys. I have the essentials and that's all I need."

"We can find some for you if you would like."

"Thank you, but no. You all have already been so kind to me. I can't- I couldn't. I'm already taking up so much of your space as it is. But thank you." And with that she vanished around the corner, hollering for Mikey not to get his tail in a twist because she was coming, leaving Leonardo to stare at the place where she had just been sitting.


	7. Hostage

"Hey"

Slowly dragging herself from the dark unconsciousness of sleep, Aaliyah groaned and shifted in bed.

"Hey"

This time the prompt was accompanied by a none-too-gentle poke to the side, forcing her to blearily flail and sit up. "Wha? Hm? Who died?"

There was a chuckle from the massive form standing over her, and she rubbed her eyes at it. "Nobody died 'cept you. Time for trainin'."

She groaned and peered at the watch Donnie had kindly given to her just a few days prior, the weight of it still a bit foreign to her but she was adjusting to it. "It's fuck:30 in the morning. Who-" She paused, cringing a little and opened one eye fully up at Raphael. "Sorry. That was inappropriate. I'm up. We doing meditation first? I'd rather not change into the shorts n' stuff if I don't have to just yet. It's freaking freezing."

Raph just smiled that devilish smile at her that she was sure communicated just how much he loved watching her suffer. Aaliyah couldn't help but think _The hell did I ever do to you, anyways?_ "Nope. Get dressed, girlie. We're startin' right inta katas. Hurry up, everybody's waitin'."

She groaned but nodded and shifted out from under the warm quilt, grimacing sleepily and shivering slightly. Raphael turned his back and walked out of the little area the boys had blocked off as hers. Donnie and Mikey had insisted that she could have more room if she wanted, that it would be easy, but she'd countered that if they kept the area small it would be easier to keep clean and organized. As it was, there was just enough space for a small dresser, the bed they'd managed to haul to the lair for her that was missing a chunk out of the corner but otherwise was in very good shape, and a small walkway.

Five minutes later she patted into the dojo carrying a sketch pad, pencil, and her one too-large sweatshirt allowing her shoulder to stick just barely out of the neck hole. She grinned at the boys who were stretching and limbering up before their morning training, and Mikey waved enthusiastically at her mid-flamingo. She giggled and waved back, taking up her place next to Master Splinter. "Good Morning, Sensei. How are you this fine day?"

"Well, my child. Was your sleep restful?"

"Very. I keep having dreams about the tmnt comics and cartoons, replaying them in my mind over and over again. Which is good, keeps them fresh in my mind, but two weeks now and I'm a little bit tired of seeing the same episodes over and over again."

Splinter stroked his chin whiskers and nodded. "Repetition often is a sign of a message that was missed. What can you learn from these dreams of yours?"

Aaliyah smiled and carefully pulled her pencil out, winking at Donnie who was currently trying his hardest not to be preoccupied by the way her hoodie was draped over her figure. He blushed darkly and jerked his head away, leaning deeply into a lunge. "I think it's my anxiety holding firmly to the one thing that makes me any help at all here. I can't forget anything because your lives and the fate of the world depends on it. And my one fear that I have is I'll forget something important and not tell you about it until it's too late. So my subconscious is trying to help me remember everything. If there's a lesson to be learned, I'm not sure I want to learn it. Repetitive as it may be, I am greatly relieved by the blessing it has been."

He nodded sagely and quirked a small smile at her. "It is wise to recognize the good in the world around us. I'm afraid it is a quality some of my sons have mastered while others struggle with it fiercely."

Aaliyah nodded and glanced at Raphael who had just finished his stretches. He was always a little more chipper on the mornings when he could wake her up and drag her out of her warm bed. Really it wasn't that cold in the lair, cooler than she liked but bearable, but it seemed he was happier when Raphael felt like he was making her slightly uncomfortable in the cool morning air. And she loved being able to tug his mouth into any kind of smile, even if it was at her expense.

"If you would be so kind this morning, my dear, I would like to use you in our lesson today. Would you mind?" Splinter asked her, and she immediately moved to put her things down. He chuckled and tapped her shoulder. "That won't be necessary. We have a few katas to work through first, and then we will require your assistance."

"Sure thing, Splinter. Just let me know when you need me and I'll be happy to jump in!" Aaliyah happily replied, bouncing a little in place.

He nodded at her and smiled at her enthusiasm, stepping forward to address his sons. Aaliyah plopped down against the weapons wall just underneath Mikey's collection of nunchaku. The boys were used to avoiding the weapons during practice, and considering the worst that could happen if something got knocked off the wall would be a bonk on the head as opposed to sitting beneath Raphael's Sai, Leo's Katanas, or Donnie's spring-loaded Bo staffs... she felt fairly safe there amongst the nunchaku. She'd been watching them from that spot for about a week now, talking quietly with Splinter from the sidelines about the types of enemies they would face and the fighting styles that would be required for each. Currently they were working on fighting techniques against Bebop and Rocksteady, with Raphael acting as the Goons.

He was relieved of his weapons and given some explicit instructions, as well as a paintball gun courtesy of Donatello's ingenuity. Leo's katanas were traded for wooden practice swords, to which he grumbled but accepted them nonetheless. And then they ran the drill again, the same as yesterday. Raphael snarled happily at his brothers as they attacked, eager to take them down again. This time, however, the brothers flowed together, playing off of each other and dividing his focus. He still landed a shot on Mikey's side and Leo's arm before the leader and the genius finally disarmed Raphael and knocked him over. Raph wasn't about to go down without taking out Leonardo with him, however, and pulled out a hidden bundle of colored powder from his belt, pelting Leo across the face with it.

"Yame!" Splinter called, and Leo lowered his practice sword from Raphael's throat. Then turning to Aaliyah, he addressed her kindly. "Miss Aaliyah, how would you assess their performance this time?" She dropped her sketches to the ground, clambering to her feet with a grin.

"Raphael was totally out of line! That wasn't fair!" Leo accused while coughing and wiping at his face, and Splinter shouted another 'Yame' in his direction.

"Raphael was excellent, actually. You're fighting Bebop and Rocksteady. They have no honor and will use every dirty, low-down, unfair trick in the book. These are characters that think the best kind of bait are women and children and that no cop is a good cop. They are the worst of the worst and easily twice your strength. Raphael's trick was perfect. Good thinking, honey!"

Raphael preened, especially at Leo's scowl, but the moment was short lived when she motioned for the leader to come closer. "See, here where Raphael got you with the paint? That would have been a laser blast. These guys don't mess around. They are using laser guns and your arm would have been gone from here, down."

"I didn't get hit!" Donnie offered eagerly, hoping to show his ninja prowess. She just laughed, however, and motioned for him to turn around. He did so to reveal two large paint splatters on his shell, making everyone chuckle.

"Donnie brings up a good point, though. You guys are used to bullets, and you can just turn your backs to them to avoid getting hit. You don't have that option with these guys. A laser blast will sear right through your shells and make you look like a block of swiss cheese. You have to watch your shells too. Not just your bellies."

Turning back around with a blush, he mumbled something under his breath. Sensing his insecurity, Aaliyah stepped forward and took him by the arm. "That was very impressive, however, being able to turn your back at a moment's notice. You are very skilled. Especially with all of that gear."

Donnie beamed and Raphael growled, pulling their attention back to him. "Skilled ain't gonna do shit when he's dead. Let's do it again, and this time don't die, knucklehead. I ain't draggin' yer ass back here if ya get blasted."

Coolly regarding him with a dangerous smile, she replied sweetly, "Oh of course not sweetie. I wouldn't dream of it. Obviously you'd be carrying him. Dragging your brothers would cause even more injury and knowing how much you care, you'd be running at a full sprint with them across your shell so they could get fixed up as quickly as possible."

Raphael narrowed his eyes at her, deepening his scowl only for Mikey to chime in, throwing his arm around her jovially. "That's totally true, brah. You'd be like a steam engine, ya big softie."

"Shut up Mikey."

"Yame, my sons. Again."

And so it went. Three times more they ran the exercise until they all came away with no new paint on their bodies, each time going over strategies at the end of the run. Noticing their panting and heaving, Splinter let them cool down a bit with a few katas, the slow and deliberate motions giving them a much needed chance to catch their breath. Aaliyah was back to using one of Donnie's sketchpads (donated to her with the apology that there was some water damage) quickly drawing the lines of motion as the boys moved, grabbing a few more shapes with each repetition of the kata. Splinter stood beside her, watching her work with great interest.

"Aaliyah, your strokes are sure and graceful, much as I wish each of my sons to be. Where did you learn your mastery of the arts?"

She started and blushed over her sketches, suddenly bashful. "Oh, Sensei, I'm only a beginner. I barely just dipped my toes into figure drawing a few years back and I'm just barely starting to grasp the way the muscles all flow together. Your sons have excellent definition and therefore make seeing the different muscle groups much easier for me to see and therefore capture. Most people are much more difficult to draw because the lines all run together."

Sensei smiled warmly down on her, bowing slightly. "I did not mean to cause you distress, my dear. I can move away to leave you at peace if you wish."

She shook her head and relaxed, only just now realizing that she had clutched the pages to her chest in surprise. "No, no, it's ok. I just got a little embarrassed when you said that I had mastery over anything. I am still just a beginner. There are thousands more hours to go before I could consider myself a master."

He nodded wisely and surveyed his sons as they moved together. "Would you consider my sons to be masters of their craft?"

She stared at them for a few long moments, blinking slowly in thought. "I know that they aren't masters yet. But compared to the fumbling that I do out there, they definitely seem as though they are."

"That is a wise answer. For while they are still young and have much to learn, they have been learning for most of their 22 years. And that is a very long time to acquire skill and confidence in any art. Even I still have much to learn, and I have been learning for a very long time. There are no true masters of any skill, my child. Only those who have reached a level of mastery such that they have the wisdom and the knowledge to begin teaching those who have not."

Aaliyah nodded and smiled as the boys had finished their katas and were beginning to compare weapons. "I agree. A master is one who understands that the tools they use are only as good as the hands that wield them."

His ears twitched, mouth quirking only just slightly. "That is a lesson I was just about to teach my sons. Your wisdom reaches far beyond your years."

She blushed and looked down at the sketches and doodles in her lap. "I had a good teacher." She looked up, face practically radiating adoration as she grinned and finished, "You. You were the one who taught me that. On my planet. You have already taught me so much, Sensei, and I'm so grateful. It's one of the lessons that kept me going through school and kept me learning as ravenously as I have been. I understood that not only were you talking about swords and sais, but you meant everything. Just like you said. Anything can be a weapon.

And I tried to use that in my classroom. Anything can be a teaching tool, if applied correctly. So I would bring the most random things into my classroom and apply them to my classroom. We made catapults out of popsicle sticks and had ecology lessons about bugs in the schoolyard. We made experiments out of shoe boxes and devices to protect eggs from a two-story fall out of paper and straws. There was nothing we couldn't do in my class with a little bit of lateral thinking and you were the one to teach me that. You and your sons."

Splinter's tail swished behind him, his beady eyes glittering even more than usual. "You... you have much to teach my sons. And I am glad that you are here in our home. We have been in darkness for so long we have forgotten what the sunlight feels like. Perhaps it is destiny after all that has brought you here, as I fear the years we have been in hiding have cost us far more dearly than we may know. And it is time we begin catching up!"

And with that, Splinter leapt out among his quarreling sons, disarming each of them in turn with grace and ease. She settled down in her place on the floor, grinning widely at the way the four boys were so easily overpowered by their aging father. The lesson was taught, this time with the addition of Aaliyah. He called her over, which she did eagerly.

"My child, take one of Leonardo's swords and face me."

Aaliyah balked and backed a step away, Leo and she both exchanging glances. "Uh, Sensei, I don't think..."

"You proclaim your weapons to be superior. Therefore, if this claim is true, they should at least be able to stand a chance against an old man and his cane. Now give her one of your katanas so that we may see if your claim is true."

"But Splinter, she hasn't had any training."

"This is true, my son. So how does that change the worth of your weapon?"

"Well it doesn't... not really... What I mean is that if she had equal training in katanas as well as other weapons, she would be a more superior fighter with the katanas. More difficult to beat."

"So then perhaps it should be you who proves the worth of your weapon, as you have had the most training with it. Attack me, my son, and do not hold back." Splinter's tone held a dangerous edge to it and Leo knew better than to disobey. This he did, and was very quickly (and forcefully) relieved of his weapons, requiring only moments before he was sliding across the dojo floor on his shell.

He then turned to his other sons and ordered them to attack him with ferocity all at once, holding nothing back. They exchanged nervous glances and started to say that they didn't feel right about it, that he was at a disadvantage, but he ordered again and they knew better to try a second time. Aaliyah made it to the edge of the dojo just as they began, each in turn getting knocked quickly from their feet and tossed easily at Aaliyah's feet. She giggled as each one in turn looked up her in embarrassment, acknowledging their defeat.

"My sons, the lesson you must learn today is this: Any weapon is only as good as the hands that wield it."

They each drug themselves to their feet, kicking and shoving each other half-heartedly as they did so, all mumbling a humble 'hai sensei.' Leo looked the most frustrated out of all of them, and Aaliyah knew it was a lesson that was not going to be understood right away. Then Splinter nodded and motioned for Aaliyah to join him in the center again.

"And now my sons, to finish your training for today I have asked Miss Aaliyah if she might help us. She has graciously accepted and therefore will be the very object of our final lesson for today." The boys looked at her curiously, and her face burned hotly at all of the pairs of eyes on her. "It has become clear through our talks that it is your fate to be involved in the rescue of many hundreds, thousands, and millions of people on this world and others. Some of those more directly than others. Today we practice the most direct form of rescue. It is your object to work as pairs to keep Miss Aaliyah away from each other. You shall be working against each other to try to steal her for your own team and place her on one end of our home or another using any means necessary. Raphael and Michelangelo will be working to take her to the south conduit junction, Leonardo and Donatello to the North drainage pool. She is our hostage, in our care, and it is of the utmost importance that she remain safe and unharmed at all times. For each injury she receives, you will all earn an hour in the Hashi. Understood?"

There was a chorus of affirmation and Splinter grinned at his sons. "Training is over when one team has claimed victory."

Raph cracked his knuckles and smirked at Don in particular, who seemed very nervous about the idea of actually picking Aaliyah up and carrying her about forcefully. "You goin' down, son."

"Hajime!"

Mikey dashed over and scooped Aaliyah up, bridal-style. "Sorry baby cakes, gotta move!" He dashed out of the dojo, giggling with the lady in his arms as he ran. He only made it to the spacious living area before Leonardo was on him, knocking his shoulder and catching Aaliyah around the waist.

"Sorry!" Leo muttered to her as he ran the other direction, making Aaliyah laugh.

"Don't apologize! This is fun! Now run faster! Raph's comin' like a Mac truck!"

And sure enough, Raphael was on them in an instant, sweeping Leo's feet out from beneath him while Mikey stole the girl from Leo's grasp. Leo dropped heavily to the floor with an 'oof' and Mikey skidded around a corner to head in the opposite direction. Aaliyah couldn't stop her laughing long enough to warn Mikey about Donnie's approach, grinning devilishly when she noticed what he had.

"Hey Mike! Pizza Delivery!"

Momentarily distracted by the slice dropped on his head, Donnie scooped up Mikey's bundle and took off and breakneck speed. There was a sudden growl by Raphael who had shaken off Leo, and the larger brother was tearing after Donnie. Aaliyah happily squeaked and 'weeeee!'d over every object Donnie vaulted over in an attempt to slow down Raph. Mikey, on the other hand, was not so easily deterred. The two were closing in and Leo couldn't get close enough to take either one down. She grinned up at Donnie and asked quietly through the commotion, "How good is your throwing arm?"

Donnie's eyes widened and he looked like he was about to protest when Raphael's snarl in his ear made him yip and take the offer. "Cross your arms and stay stiff if you can! LEO! CATCH!"

Aaliyah shrieked and laughed happily as Donnie easily heaved her over Mikey's head, Leo yelping at the surprise maneuver and catching her in a basket-catch. "A little more warning next time!" He shouted at his brother, jumping over some piping and sliding on his shell down a shute. The bundle in his arms squealed in equal parts fright and excitement, latching almost painfully around his neck. There wasn't time to question it, Mikey hot on his heels as he skidded out of the slide and skittered down the next tunnel.

"Don'tcha worry angelcakes! I'm coming!" Mikey called after her, though she didn't miss the glance he gave to his left.

"Leo! On your nine!"

The leader skidded to a halt, Mikey smacking into him and falling over as Raph barreled past and missed grabbing the girl from his brother. "Donnie! Think fast!" Donatello emerged from a tunnel on the right just in time to catch the giggling little mop of very messy hair so Leo could run interference with Raph and Mikey.

"I am so sorry about that." He apologized, running as fast as his long legs would carry him. "I'll- I'll fix it when we get back."

"Is that a threat or a promise? Because I'll take it either way. It's just nice to know before hand what I'll be getting into."

"Threat, most likely. I'm afraid I am frightfully inexperienced with hair."

"That's ok. I can-"

Raphael shoved Donnie roughly, snatching her out of his brother's grip as Don tried to roll to keep her safe. "Too slow, Dee!" Raphael called back triumphantly, tearing off like a bull elephant towards their end of the sewer system. "Sorry to break up the love fest, sweetheart, but I think you got somewhere to be."

"Oh that's ok Raph! Donnie and I were just talking about hair. How are you, honey?"

He grunted and ducked Leo's high-kick, rolling and continuing his run while Mikey attacked Leo with a victory shout. "Eh, runnin' the sewers. Pretty standard mornin'." He then hip-checked Donatello into the wall, chuckling at the curse he earned from the tallest brother. Aaliyah couldn't help but giggle too.

"Wow, that's impressive! I don't think I've ever heard Donnie swear before!"

"It's a gift." He checked over his shoulder and made a quick calculation. He ducked into a side tunnel and stretched up on his tippy toes to place Aaliyah on a ledge. "Stay here a sec. I'll be right back."

"I dunno Raph, with a little bunny hop like that I might just take off and wander the sewer system until a hungry Leatherhead shows up." She quipped dryly as she peered down at the nearly 10 foot drop. "Nope. Nope. Consider me glued here."

"Good. I'll just be a sec." He nodded, peeling off the way he came and loudly collided with whoever it was that had come after him. There was a lot of grunting and shouting until Donnie's head dropped down right smack dab in front of her with a happy 'hello!'

Aaliyah screeched and fell backwards into the wall, trying her best to scowl at Donnie when she realized who it was. "Donatello Hamato! Goodness gracious you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry to disturb you but would you mind joining me? There's a shortcut that leads almost directly to our destination from this tunnel up here. We'll save ourselves about 13.47 minutes this way." She grinned up at him, eyes bouncing between his smile and the floor below.

"Yep. Uh huh. As soon as this ledge grows a little larger I would love nothing more than to hop up there and join you. As it is... however... I'm terrified of heights and so I'm not going anywhere. I'm stuck. If I move I will fall and die."

Donnie's eye ridges furrowed in slight concern and disbelief. "You... aren't exhibiting signs of distress..."

Aaliyah grinned and took a deep breath. "I've got a poker face to rival Master Splinter. Now you have two options. Let me move reeeeeeaaly slowly or hop down there and pick me up."

Raphael had spotted Donatello and the former bellowed his protest. "Donatello don't you even think about it!"

He squeaked and stuck his hands under her armpits. "Really sorry about this." Then using nothing but his arm strength he hoisted her up to the pipe he was sticking out of, rolling onto his side to seat her on the edge until he could get his knees under him and drag her backwards. Raphael made a jump for her feet, managing to just bump the bottom of her shoe with the tip of his finger. With a victorious giggle that ended in a teeny snort, Donatello wriggled backwards out of the small conduit with Aaliyah crawling after him quickly. Raphael's snarl from the other side of the pipe echoed like a promise through the concrete, urging Donnie to hurry things along before the largest of the brothers managed to find a way to their location.

"Geez, Raphael is really taking this game seriously, isn't he?" Aaliyah giggled, brushing off her knees and looking up at Don.

"More serious than usual, yes. I wonder what the cause for his consternation this morning could be." Donnie mused out loud, offering his hand. "If you don't mind, I'm afraid the rest is a rather steep slide downhill and you would be far safer with me than without. I-if you'd rather-"

But Aaliyah was already doing her little step-hop up into Donnie's arms, shifting so that she could hold his neck more securely. "Stop talking and start walking. We've got a game to win!"

Nodding quickly Donnie took off at a fast jog again, soon coming to the slope and taking a seat on the slick floor. "Hold on tight. There's a curve near the bottom I tend to loop through." And then he pushed off, zipping through the tunnel like a bullet. Aaliyah was curled against his chest, eyes squeezed shut so she couldn't see the drop, and giggling at the rocking motion and butterflies in her stomach from the quick change in elevation.

Donnie was just assuring her they only had another 100 yards to go when a boistrous 'cowabunga' sounded through the tunnels, making Donnie groan. Mikey shot out of a tunnel just ahead of him, and he turned around backwards to grin at the pair of them. "Hey Baby! MC Mikey's come to save the day!" He dug his heels into the slick walls to slow himself just enough so he could grab Donnie's feet and make a reach for Aaliyah.

"Oh no you don't!" Donnie returned, peeling his brother off and shoving his shoulder roughly to shoot him ahead. Mikey wasn't deterred, however, screeching to stop by bracing himself on the walls of the tunnel with his hands and feet, shimmying up just enough so Donnie could shoot beneath him and Mikey could snatch their 'hostage' out of his arms. Whooping triumphantly Mikey slid into a different, smaller conduit and started heading back the opposite direction. Donnie shouted at Michelangelo from below, making the younger brother giggle.

"Gotcha now babycakes. You doin' alright?"

"Just fine sweetie. How far until your side of the sewers?"

"Not too far. If I can just get up a couple levels we can make it to another tunnel that'll take us right where we wanna go. Just hang on and we'll be there in no time. Hey, wanna sing a song to pass the time?"

She giggled and shook her head, leaning in close to his face to whisper, "Aren't we supposed to be sneaking so the other team doesn't find us?"

Mikey laughed and shook his head in return. "Naw, Donnie knows we're here and Leo's too big ta fit in this pipe. I'm the small, cute one, remember? Donnie can fit without all his gear on but since he's wearin' it he'll be too big ta fit in this tunnel."

It _**was**_ an incredibly tight fit, but Mikey was moving steadily upwards nonetheless even with one arm occupied. Aaliyah just leaned her head on his plastron and grinned, unfazed. "It's not a problem. I'm not claustrophobic. Just be careful you don't scrape your shell too badly."

"No way baby girl. I got this, no problem. Heh. You know, this'd be the perfect place to pretend to be stuck. Like..." He shifted just barely so his shell was on a slight angle, wedging him in place. "Oh No! We're stuck here in this tunnel, all alone! Whatever are we gonna do!? Only a kiss from a beautiful princess can free us from this awful fate!" Mikey's tone was playful, but the glimmer in his eye indicated he was going to see if he could still pull it off. Aaliyah just laughed at him.

"Well you better find yourself a princess quick or we're going to be stuck here awhile."

"Aw now baby girl, don't be like that! YOU are my beautiful princess! You're like a ray of sunshine down here in the sewers, all warm and bright and gorgeous. Seriously, if the guys wouldn't seriously kill me for it, you'd be like the perfect cuddle buddy to sleep with. How are you so warm all the time?" Mikey nuzzled her neck, making Aaliyah squirm and squeak. Giggling nervously, she hugged him just a bit more tightly.

"You know, I'm usually the one people worry about because I'm cold all of the time. It's kind of weird being the only one who's warm blooded in the house."

"MICHELANGELO!" Donnie's bellow from below made them both jump, urging Mikey to dislodge his shell and keep climbing. "You better not be headed where I think you're headed!"

"Sorry brah! Gotta win! Splinter said no rules!" Mikey called back, appearing to shout at Aaliyah's chest but really trying to make his voice carry below.

"Mikey! Don't you dare! You know that part of the tunnels is unstable!"

"It's totally fine brah! I got this!"

"Leo! Move! Now! He's headed up to the old abandoned shafts above!" Donnie's voice could be distantly heard, heading away from them, and Mikey's hostage eyed him warily.

"Michelangelo..."

"Don't worry chica. I got this. You're safe. I wouldn't take my best girl somewhere I couldn't totally keep her safe!" He reassured her, approaching the top of the conduit. "Besides..."

"Nice of you to finally show up. Didja stop for pizza along the way?"

"Yeah brah, and ice cream. You totally shoulda been there."

"Well I hope ya brought a receipt because we got places ta be. Come on, slowpoke." Raphael snagged her from Michelangelo's grasp and hoisted her into the air, tucking her against his side as though she was a small child.

They moved quickly and cautiously, eyeing the ceiling at all times and darting ahead of the places that creaked and groaned forebodingly. Mikey gave a small squeak that echoed dangerously through the tunnel, making Raphael and Aaliyah turn to look around. Donnie and Leo were running at full steam, angry as a stung pair of hornets, and Raphael took off at surprising speed for his size. Then darting quickly to the left, hopped into what appeared to be a black abyss without warning. Aaliyah gasped and whimpered, mashing her face into his neck and clinging to Raphael tightly enough he hardly had to hold her. Which was helpful because it meant he could use two hands to help him swing on the pipes and ropes scattered throughout the darkness.

He did hold her tightly again as he hit the ground below heavily, running through the tunnels that lead to victory just a few dozen yards later. Grinning smugly at Leo, Donnie, and then Mikey who came barreling into the open drainage area currently devoid of any water, he hoisted Aaliyah up onto his shoulder. "Guess who just won the game, suckers."

"AW YEAH BOY!" Mikey cried triumphantly, pumping his fist at his side. "Totally beat you guys into the dirt! Booyah!"

Leo and Donnie, however, were not pleased. "Raphael, of all the stupid, reckless, irresponsible-"

"Hey! We won, didn't we? Splinter said! If this was a real hostage situation-"

"You could have seriously injured not only Aaliyah, but also yourselves! You KNOW that part of the tunnels was abandoned for a reason! If Splinter found out-"

"Whatchu gonna do, Leo? Run to daddy and tell on me? Hah."

"Ah come on now brah, don't be like that! We won the game and nobody got hurt! It's all good! Now gimme my best girl, winners get kisses!"

"Shut UP Mikey!" All three brothers finally chorused together, making Aaliyah laugh.

"Well it's nice that you boys at least agree on one thing. And Mikey does have a point." She replied, making everyone start. It was at the same moment Raphael realized what she meant that he registered her lips on his cheek and her hand cupping his jaw on the other side of his neck. He nearly dropped her, only saving himself the embarrassment buy instinctively stiffening and freezing.

It was quick, only a couple of seconds, but the second she'd pulled back he was practically dropping her into Mikey's arms and bristling hotly. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck and stormed off towards home, completely ignoring everyone else. Mikey was happy to play it up when Aaliayh went to kiss his cheek, turning his head with a giggle and puckered lips at the last second. She knew it was coming, however, and jerked away in time to narrowly avoid his face, smacking his arm with a laugh in response. Donnie looked ready to kill Mikey, fuming at his audacity first to even ask for a kiss and then second to try to steal one when he was about to get a kiss on the cheek! How dare he be so greedy!

Leo noticed the red in Donnie's eyes and quickly stepped in, cuffing Mikey on the back of the head. "Don't be an idiot, Mikey. You're lucky nobody got hurt."

"Ow! Hey, come on brah, why you gotta be like that?" But Leo wasn't paying Mikey any attention, instead pulling Aaliyah from his baby brother's grasp to set her on the ground.

"Are you hurt? I'm sorry things got a little bit out of hand."

She giggled and shook her head, turning in a few circles before shrugging. "I think I walked away from this one scratch free. Dirty, but no scratches. How about you guys, nobody got hurt, right?"

"Uh, hello? I did! Just now!" Mikey cut in, pointing to the back of his head and huffing. "I think I'm a turtle in need of some lovin'!"

"MIKEY!" Donnie shouted, and Aaliyah could tell his feathers had been ruffled. She squeezed Leo's hand and winked, then let go and stepped between the two brothers.

"How about we head home and have some breakfast, hm? Mikey and I can make pancakes and then I can help Donnie with that repair you were mentioning yesterday. Does that sound good?"

"Aw but baby girl! The new issue of Space Avengers just came out!"

Aaliyah laughed and shook her head. "Mike, we haven't even made it all the way through Volume One yet."

"That doesn't mean you can't have a sneak peek at things to come!" Mikey tried to prompt, but she just laughed louder and flipped his mask tails.

"Michelangelo, I'll hang out with you later and we can keep working our way through some more comics then, but after I help Donnie out I already promised Leo some time. I asked him if he could teach me a little bit more Japanese."

"I can teach you Japanese while we read comics together!"

"Mikey, you can't hog all the attention. You're not the only one who enjoys her company you know."

"Exactly! You have already monopolized Aaliyah's time exactly 4.87 times more than the rest of us combined!"

"Boys, really, there's plenty of me to go around. It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon. I still don't even know how to exit the sewers yet."

"Maybe I could help with that." A voice broke in as the family entered the kitchen. There was a man sitting comfortably at the island with Raphael that Aaliyah had never seen before, but judging by the hockey mask splayed out in front of him and the haphazardly deposited bag of hockey sticks and baseball bats against the wall it wasn't really much of a mystery. "'Sup gorgeous."

Grinning from ear to ear in a devilish way that made Donnie swallow thickly and Mikey and Leo exchange glances, Aaliyah shifted her weight onto one leg and placed her hands on her hips.

"Hey Arnold."


	8. Conversations

Leo started in the darkness, blinking in confusion. Brain still foggy from sleep, it took a moment for him to get his bearings. Even more powerful than the sleepiness, however, was the unusual sensation of warmth that slurred his thoughts together in happy befuddlement. Slowly his eyes started to focus and his situational awareness started to wake up, Making him suddenly aware that he was not in his bed like he should have been.

He was on the couch, facing the T.V. just as he had been when he'd fallen asleep. It was coming back to him now. He started to shift a little when he froze, pointedly aware that he was not alone. Not only that, but he was laying on top of something. Or, more specifically, someone. And it was painfully comfortable.

A delicate pair of hands slid over his shell and started dancing over his head and neck again, dragging a contented sigh from Leo's chest. "Hey there Fearless. Did you have a nice nap?"

He grunted sleepily and snuggled his face into her stomach instinctively before realizing the implications of his actions and jerking his head up. She laughed at the dark flush to his cheeks, gently tugging his head to encourage him to replace it back down where it had been. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect. I'm still not fully awake."

"You sure? You look very awake now."

Leo sat up carefully, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't hurt you at all did I? I know I'm a lot bigger than you."

Aaliyah sat up with a slight shake of her head. "Nope, no broken bones and no bruises. You only slept for an hour, you know."

"An hour!?" Leo asked with slight panic, feeling even more guilty. "It was only supposed to be for a few minutes."

"Hey, hey, take it easy." She soothed, reaching out to take his shoulder and squeeze it reassuringly. "You were tired and you've been working hard. You deserve a nap. Heh, and It's pretty rare to find Mikey anywhere except my lap so you might as well take advantage of it while it's free."

Leo chuckled and stretched, allowing Aaliyah a few surreptitious glances while his eyes were closed. It was hard not to. Nearly five weeks had gone by and she still wasn't used to the fact that she was really here. She had to be careful, though. All four boys and their furry father all had excellent senses of smell and she'd already received a bit of ribbing from Mikey at the scents she could put off at a moment's notice.

And as if summoned by thinking of him, Mikey swept into the room with a whistle and a little hop-skip. Upon seeing his big brother up, he gave a happy lilt to his whistling and leaned over the back of the couch. "Hey bro! How was your nap?"

"Restful." He replied with a yawn.

"Soooooo if you're done with that, can I have a turn? These sewers are always so cold, and her lap is so warm and soft and cozy!" Mikey asked, trying to sneak over the back of the couch. Leo gave the situation an appraising glance, narrowed his eyes at Mikey, and shoved his baby brother's face backwards.

"Nope. Not done yet." Aaliyah giggled as Leo flopped back down and wrapped his arms around her waist, wiggling a little to get comfortable again. She resumed her gentle scratches to his head and shoulders, heart fluttering a little at the very quiet purr she earned. She looked up at Mikey and they exchanged winks.

"Awww, brah, why you gotta be like that? You've had like a whole hour."

"And you've had her all morning. It's still my turn."

"Fiiiiiiiiiine. But I call dibs next. I'm feeling cranky and need a nap too, ya know."

"Actually, Mikey, Donnie should get the next turn. You know he's been up for two days working on the Battle Shell." Leo countered, that normally hard edge to his voice that left no room for argument adorably soft with the returning warmth to addle his brain. It grew quickly warmer as Aaliyah blushed and looked towards the exit to the garage.

"Heeeey!" Mikey agreed, sounding as though he'd just had a fabulous idea. Aaliyah knew that tone, and with it always brought one of Mikey's infamous schemes.

"Noooo no no no Michelangelo. I know what you're thinking and you just put the breaks on that right now. Donnie is working. You need to give him time to finish his project before you go dragging him away from it." She firmly countered, trying her best to shut him down.

"Whaaaat? You know Donnie needs sleep as much as the next guy! And a nice, warm lap might just be the motivation he needs to take a break!" Mikey replied less-than-innocently. "Right Leo?"

Leonardo lifted his head and turned carefully to look at his little brother. They exchanged a wordless communication through subtle facial expressions and minimal gestures with their hands. After about a minute of silent discussion Leo facepalmed and Mikey beamed.

"Aw yeah! Operation Cuddles is a go!"

"Mikey." Aaliyah warned, and with as thorough as she had been in following through with every threat she'd ever given Michelangelo he shrank just a little under her scrutinous gaze. Not to be deterred, however, Mikey put on his best puppy face and cutely peered over the back of the couch.

"Whaaaat? Come on baby girl! Can't you see it? Donnie has a crush on you! We're just trying to hook you two up! And I know you like him back cause I can see it babe! All Leo and I gotta do is play a little matchmaker and kick Donnie in the butt for bein' so shy and buh-BAM! Matchmaker Mikey is in the house!"

Instantly Aaliyah's face was aflame and her cands clapped over her mouth. "Michelangelo Hamato!"

Leo groaned a little and put a finger up, his expression one of longsuffering. "Let it be known that this is all Mikey's idea."

"Aw come on bruh! You know it's true!" Mikey retorted, standing up with his fists on his hips. "Donnie's got a crush and he's gonna take 10 years before he says anything about it if we don't help him! It's our job and brothers to kick his butt and help him out!"

"We're kickin' who's butt now?" Raphael asked, walking in with a soda can. He surveyed the area and smirked at Leo, who was still couched on Aaliyah's stomach. "Nice pillow, bro."

"Donnie's! He's been workin' on that thing for two days now and we're gonna lure him away with promises of cuddles! He won't be able to resist!" Mikey announced triumphantly, looking as though he just came up with a foolproof plan to take down the Shredder. He was practically vibrating from excitement. Raphael, on the other hand, suddenly looked thunderous.

"That's funny. Cause I was just about to go help Don on the Battle Shell. How about I take ya message for ya." He replied coolly through narrowed eyes and the slightest of smirks still clinging to his lips.

"No way! You'd do that?" Mikey asked, positively beaming.

"Sure thing. I'll make sure he gets the message." Raphael replied, taking another sip and striding purposefully onward towards the garage. "But you know Donnie and his projects. Don't getcha hopes up. When he's on a roll, there's nothing that can stop that kid. So Don't getcha self up, Leo. He's probably gonna be a while."

"No way brah. He'll probably come running when he hears it! I'll betcha he'll be here in like 30 seconds!" Mikey's voice echoed off the concrete after Raphael, who continued to stride to the garage. Donnie was underneath the vehicle with a blowtorch, working away busily. Raph took another swig of his drink, crushing it and tossing it into the trash can nearby.

Surveying the stacks of parts and tools around, Raph picked up something nearby and began tinkering with it while he waited for his brother to emerge, silently stewing over Mikey's enthusiasm. How could Mikey be so on board with hooking the two of them up when they still didn't hardly even know the chic? Was the kid have even more screws loose than Raph thought before?

"Oh Raph! Sorry, I didn't see you." Donnie's voice broke through his thoughts and Raph looked up with a 'hm?'

"Oh yeah, thought you could use a hand. Ya been workin' on this thing for days."

Donnie laughed a little and rubbed an eye, his only indication that fatigue was catching up to him. "Yeah, I know, but I am getting pretty close to finishing this up. Just another 3-5 hours and I should be finished."

"Ya need a hand?"

His brother beamed at him and Raph could help the tug at his own lips in return. "Sure! You could help me lift this engine back in. Smaller motors I can handle on my own but this beast of a diesel is way more than I can carry without help."

"Pff. You and your noodle arms need ta work out more with me." Raphael chuckled, shaking his head. They moved towards the front of the refurbished and repurposed dump truck, stepping over all of the tools and parts Donnie still had laid out over the floor. "Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to tell ya for Mike. Says ya need ta take a break and go nap on Aaliyah."

Donnie squeaked and dropped the wrench he was carrying, blushing darkly and fumbling to pick it up. "I what!?" The lanky brother stammered for a minute, trying to put together a coherent sentence, and Raphael just chuckled at him. _Poor kid. He's in way over his head. See this is why I gotta save the kid from himself. _"I couldn't possibly! She's hardly an acquaintance. I couldn't simply just... It wouldn't be right! I mean that's … that's practically sleeping with..."

Raphael laughed outright at the look of deep distress and painfully dark tone to Donnie's skin, showing just how deeply he was blushing. He clapped his brother on the shoulder and punched him in the arm, saying, "I'm tellin' ya, Mikey's a few cards short of a deck, Don. Kid's got no filter. Don't stress about it, you know Mikey. Now how about that engine?"

* * *

"I dunno man, I just think that maybe gettin' in Donnie's way isn't such a good idea. Look I know ya still hurt about April 'n ya jus' tryin'ta protect the guy but I'm tellin' ya it ain't right ta get in the way. She's clearly crazy about you guys and I think ya bein' hasty. And that's comin' from me." Casey explained over a can of soda as the two boys lounged at Casey's apartment.

"It ain't hasty, Case, and this has nothin' to do with April. The kid's just gonna hurt himself and I can't let her just waltz in and say all this crap and be the only one that thinks maybe she ain't right." Raphael growled, crushing his own empty can in his powerful fist. "Especially when Leo's all 'you are dishonoring us all by acting this way' and 'you can't expect me to just sit by while you try your damndest to drive away our friend.' He just likes her 'cause she's helping him with battle strategies and stuff. Buys all his leaderly B.S. and tells him how great of a leader he is. It ain't right."

"She done anything yet ta give ya some kinda proof that she's no good?"

Raphael huffed and lobbed the crumpled little ball of aluminum into the open trash can across the roof. No, she hadn't. That was the problem. She was too nice. Too giving. Too clean. And while he himself liked things in their proper place, the fact that she was so careful to put things back exactly the way she found them or better was starting to get on his nerves. And no sane person should be able to spend so much time keeping Mikey happy and not lose it at him once or twice. Two months and not one single time had she even raised her voice at the kid.

"She's too good. There isn't a soul alive that doesn't have some skeletons in their closet. Sometimes ya just gotta shake 'em a little harder to get them to rattle around so you can hear 'em. She even likes hangin' out with Mikey. And... It's like she's just got the answer for everything. Gets along with everybody, no problem. Not one. Not even one problem. It's too good. I don't like it."

"Maybe ya just paranoid. Overthinkin' things."

Raphael snorted ineffectually and grumbled as his belt started to buzz. "Comin' from you that's real rich, shell-for-brains" Just great. Just what he needed. Leo giving him a call to tell him to come home. He unclipped it and flicked it open to tell his brother exactly how he felt about being checked up on. "Yeah, what."

"Put it away, Raph. We've got movement we have to check out. Bring Case if you want. It's actually pretty close to his neighborhood."

"Fine. Meet ya there in 10."

* * *

Aaliyah started and blinked at the shell cell on the kitchen counter when it started to vibrate. The boys had only been gone 20 minutes and already they were calling? She quickly wiped off her hands, trying to calm the flood of monsters washing through her mind that could possibly be the cause of their call.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Aaliyah, hi, uh... quick question. Sorry to bother you. You wouldn't happen to know anything about a giant robot made of scrap metal and car parts protecting a guy and calling him 'Daddy' would you?"

She grinned and leaned on the counter. Donnie sounded winded and slightly pained, and she didn't even have to ask. "What, you mean Nano? Poor baby, how big is he right now?"

"Poor Ba- Uh... I'd say at about 10 feet tall we might want to revise your definition of 'baby.'"

"Oh good, you still have time then. Donnie, listen to me very carefully. The reason it's name is Nano is because it's being controlled by thousands of tiny nanobots that are capable of self-replication. They have a hive-mind and are personifying at about the level of a three-year-old child. The guy it's protecting is a thief and a crook and he's already terribly influenced the poor bots are from a nearby research facility and they are susceptible to heat and electric shock."

"They just took off running. Where are they headed?"

"The city metal yard." There was a sound on the other end of things being destroyed and Donnie gave a tiny squeak.

"Okgreatthanksbye! MIKEY!" -Click-

"I- but-" Aaliyah looked at the phone and blinked rapidly at it. "But... I was..."

"Something troubles you, my child?" She turned around to see Splinter walking into the kitchen, looking concerned.

"I... well... yes... kindof. I mean... In all actuality it's probably for the best that Donnie hung up when he did. I was about to tell them not to use the plan I'm positive they're about to use, because It's not going to work, but actually I think this is better."

"My sons were hasty in their call to you and did not allow you to speak your mind?"

"No, Donnie hung up on me because they were chasing a robot. I think it was breaking things, and Donnie shouted Mikey's name when he hung up. So he was probably into trouble again."

"Hmmmmm." Splinter's tone was not pleased and he stroked his beard in thought. "Perhaps I will have to have a talk with my sons when they return."

She looked at the phone and smiled sadly, placing it on the counter. "Oh don't worry. This may be a lesson that will teach itself. It's not going to be too detrimental that it plays out this way. After all, this is how it goes on my planet. And when they face this robot again, it actually ends in quite a monetary gain for the family. I just... I guess I was hoping to spare them the trouble of fighting the robot again."

"Even so, it was inconsiderate of them and the action should not be repeated. I will speak with them when they return."

Aaliyah nodded, looking at the phone with still some amount of concern. "Actually, Sensei?" There was a pause, indicating Splinter was listening. "Could I talk to them instead? I don't want to tell you how to parent your sons, but would it be ok if I try talking to them first?"

There was the quiet swish of Splinter's tail on the concrete and the sound of his beard running through his paw. "Are you asking that I not speak to my sons about this?"

Aaliyah cringed and sucked in a deep breath, keeping her eyes firmly trained on the shell cell. "I- Maybe. ...Yes. Yes I am asking that. I don't think Donnie meant to hang up before I was done. And..." She swallowed thickly, whole body tensed. "I need to practice talking to people about problems. One of I'm sure many residual things that I carried over with my memories of my past life is that I am painfully shy when it comes to points of conflict. Partially because I was raised that way and partially from my marriage. So if it wouldn't be too much to ask, would it be alright if I was the one who talked to them about it? Instead?"

"Hmmm." Aaliyah could feel his eyes on her, considering her words. Still not quite able to meet that gaze, even though she knew he wasn't angry, it was a painful ordeal to rip her gaze from the counter, drag her body to turn to face the old master, and inch her line of sight around to stare at his feet. "Yes. I suppose this would be a good thing for you to handle on your own. But if my sons do not listen or they are not receptive, I wish for you to tell me that I may speak to them about their behavior."

Aaliyah blew out the breath she was holding, nodding emphatically. "Hai, Sensei."

Then his paw was on her shoulder and Aaliyah shyly glanced up from the floor to meet Splinter's eyes briefly. "My child, I do not know what your past life was like, but I can assure you that you do not have reason to fear speaking your mind in this house. We welcome you as an honored friend and will always treat you as such."

She nodded and cracked a small smile at him, meeting his gaze again. "Hai, Splinter-san."

"You do not sound convinced of my words." He prompted gently, the soothing tone giving Aaliyah a little more confidence to keep her eyes on Splinter's.

"I am grateful for your kindness, Splinter, but I'm afraid old habits die hard. Especially ones so ingrained as this. It's like Leonardo's fear of heights. It took years of training to show him how to be able to work through his fear and be able to fight and work in spite of it. I- uh- I was abused. Some. And while I did my best not to let it get to me too much it's going to take time, but I appreciate the reassurance." She explained, and Splinter's ear twitched. She was getting better at reading the rat, and Aaliyah was pretty sure that this particular ear twitch was in response to the memories of training little Leo and helping him conquer his fears. Either that or maybe it was in response to the fact that he was slightly surprised.

"Of course my child. It is wise to understand that change happens slowly through much effort and dedication. It does not happen overnight as some might wish." He nodded sagely and moved to climb up onto one of the stools at the island. "I have full confidence that you will be able to overcome this fear of yours as Leonardo has overcome his."

Breath finally returning to normal, Aaliyah grinned and moved back to the sink to finish washing the dishes from lunch and dinner. She caught his appraising glance over the stack of dishes and the accompanying twitch of his nose. "Was it not Raphael's turn to clean the dishes this evening?"

Aaliyah nodded and dove her hands into the sudsy water. "It was, but he and Leo got into a bit of a scuffle last night and Raph was pretty bent out of shape about it this morning. I offered to clean the dishes so he could go over to Casey's and blow off a little steam. I may not be personally fond of Casey but I do know that he is good for Raphael, so I'm happy to lend a hand so Raph can take some time to calm down and talk things through with his best friend."

Splinter hummed in understanding behind her. "That was very generous of you. I must admit that it surprises me still how well you know my sons. Even Mister Jones, who has known us much longer, does not seem to understand them as well. And you have only been here a few weeks."

She chuckled and continued to wash and scrub. It was almost like being back home again, chatting with her father in law while she washed dishes. The only thing that was missing was a toddler hanging off of her leg, squealing and swinging like it was a fire pole. The high-pitched lilt of her daughter's voice rang through her mind as if the tot was clinging to her leg still, looking up with her deep blue eyes wide and turned up at the corners in a gleeful smile, ponytails bouncing high atop her head as happily as the toddler.

_Mama! Mama! Look at meeeee! I swingin'! _

_Yes honey, you sure are. Just be careful you don't fall over. _

_Okaaaaay. Ring 'round a rosey, poket is a pulley, ashes ashes, all fall DOWN! Mama you not fall down wif me! _

_I know sweetie, that's because I'm washing the dishes. _

_I wash too? _

_Ok honey, you can help me wash the dishes too. Could you be a big helper and push your stool over? _

_Okaaaaay. _

_Thank you honey. _

_I'm not a honey! I'm a girl! _

_Yes sweetheart, you are a girl. Is PaPa a girl? _

_Nooooooo he's a boy! _

_Very good honey. How about Mommy? Is mommy a boy? _

_No! You a girl! _

_That's right baby, mommy is a girl. Thank you for pushing the stool over. Now are you ready to get up? Hold onto mommy now. My hands are all wet and soapy so I'm going to just use my arms. Ready? 1, 2, 3- UP! _

_Oh Sank you mommy! _

_You're welcome baby. Now how about you be mommy's big helper and rinse the dishes once I scrub them. Would you like to hold the soapy dishes under the water and wash all the bubbles off? _

_Uh-huh! _

_Oh good. That would be such a big help!_

_Lookit mama, like dis?_

_ Yes honey, just like that. _

* * *

"And then he dropped Nano into the fiery furnace and SPLOOSH! No more robot." Mikey regailed with waving hands and wild gestures, prompting Donnie to clear his throat and adjust his glasses.

"Actually Mikey, I wasn't the one responsible for that. The power was cut, meaning that the electromagnet wasn't able to generate the magnetic field required to maintain a hold on the robot any more. Therefore, the robot fell into the smelter and was melted back into it's component alloys."

"Blah blah, robot got melted and we saved the day again! That's the important part!" Mikey countered with an eye roll and dismissive wave of his hand. "Sheesh, you don't know how to tell stories."

Aaliyah nodded and sipped her cocoa, a knowing smile twinkling her eyes. "Mikey, Donnie was just trying to be accurate."

"I know, but he takes all the fun out of telling the story!"

"Michelangelo... she already knows the story. She was the one who told us about the nanobots and the metal yard in the first place, remember?" Leo added, giving his brother a slightly disbelieving look.

"I know THAT but she wasn't THERE! I gotta make sure she doesn't miss out! Hey! Maybe next time she could come with us!"

"It's too dangerous, Michelangelo. What if she got hurt?"

"But, like, doesn't she know everything already? So she'll know where to stand and stuff so she doesn't get hurt?"

"Leave it, numbnuts. Ain't happening."

"It's alright, Mikey, I don't need to come. I don't want you guys to be distracted from the mission because you're worried about me. Besides, I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help anyways."

Everyone started and blinked at her a few times. "What... what do you mean? You were incredibly helpful. We might have wasted precious time looking for Nano if you hadn't pointed us in the proper direction. And it was your suggestion that the nanobots were susceptible to heat that gave me the idea to use the metal yard smelter to end it." Donnie stated, looking perplexed.

Aaliyah's knowing smile returned. "Did you end it?"

Donnie and Leo exchanged glances, the former more nervous than the other. "Uh, well, yes? We all saw it drop into the smelter, right fellas?"

There was a chorus of agreement that quickly fell silent as Aaliyah started to chuckle to herself. Raphael bristled and stood up from his place on the couch, glaring at her menacingly. "And what the shell is so funny all of a sudden?"

She simply shook her head at Raphael. Then turning back to Donatello, she prompted shyly, clearing her throat a little. "Do you recall what I said about self-replication?"

He nodded, the twiddling of his fingers left to belie his nervous state beneath his seemingly calm exterior. "Yes, and we did see it's ability to accumulate more and more parts as the result of having nanobots to work with proportional to the amount of time it took to defeat it."

She leaned forward and set her mug on the little coffee table. "That is correct. So therefore it was imperative that every. Single. Nanobot. Be destroyed. And what are the odds, do you think, given all of the attempts you each made to dismantle it and injure it before attempting to melt it that you managed to destroy each and every single nanobot?"

Donnie paled Raphael growled, rolling his shoulders forward. "Are you sayin-?"

She nodded as the faces in the room dawned with understanding. "I'm afraid to tell you boys that you didn't give me time to finish telling you everything I knew about the robot. If you could have just waited for me to finish my sentence before hanging up on me, I could have told you how to more effectively destroy it so that you would only have to fight it once this time."

"This time?" Raphael asked incredulously, stepping forward. "How many times do we gotta fight that bucket of bolts?"

"Well now it's going to be twice, Raphael, because next time we're going to do it the right way." Aaliyah replied with a tone of apology, her face scrunched a little in concern.

"The shell didn't you call us back and tell us how to do it the right way the first time?" Raphael asked with raised voice, breaking Aaliyah's collected expression. "Ya coulda called! I nearly got stomped into mush!"

"I- I didn't think-"

"Well clearly ya didn't think! You just wanted to sit there all smug and such, tellin' us we didn't do it right and makin' us feel like boneheads, while you get to be the one who's all high and mighty in this!"

"Raph, no, that's not-"

"The thing almost got Mikey! You mean to tell me you knew we were doin' it wrong the whole time and you knew Mikey almost got creamed and you didn't even bother to TRY to call?"

"Raph, calm down. She's just trying to help." Leo cut in, noticing the increasingly distressed look on Aaliyah's face as Raph's mood shifted from bad to dangerous.

"NO! Open your eyes, Leo! This is exactly what I'm talkin' about! What I've been tryin' ta tell ya! She's no good and nothin' but trouble! But you're too blinded by the fact that she's tellin' ya SOME things for ya ta see she ain't tellin' ya everything!"

"Raphael, it's not like she was trying to withold information. Donnie just hung up on her before she could finish!"

"And if she really cared about any-a us she woulda called and left a message tellin' us what ta do! She's puttin' us all inta danger and I ain't gonna sit around with my finger in my nose waitin' around for her ta tell us half-a the story so we can get our asses kicked from here ta Japan and she can be all smug and tell us we ain't doin' it right!"

"Raph! Stand down! You are WAY out of line!"

"Uh... guys?"

"Fuck you Leo. You think you know best when really you're just pretending. You don't know shit. You can't even tell when we got a snake right under our noses! Even when ya just got bit!"

"Guys?"

"Not now Mikey. Raphael, if you would just let her explain I'm sure she had a good reason for not calling!"

"And what could be so important here that she couldn't bother calling even once!? Nothing is more important than you guys and THOSE boneheads were almost robot chow! You expect me ta believe anythin' she's gotta say when she's hangin' our shells out ta dry?"

"GUYS!"

"I don't wanna hear ANY 'a her excuses when she's puttin them in danger! Might as well just let the Shredder come live here too!"

CRACK

Splinter's tail was like a whip against Raphael's shell, stinging and sharp, his only notice before having his legs swept out from beneath him. He hit the cement hard, getting the wind knocked out of him in one mighty rush. Another crack and Leo hit the concrete as well, though mercifully on his knees instead of on his belly.

"YAME!"

Splinter's voice echoed through the space like a bolt of thunder, ceasing all sound and motion except for Raphael's wheezing. "What is going on here!?" The aged rat's voice shook with fury and every head ducked in well-learned submission, knowing full well that there were few transgressions so upsetting to him that his eyes blaze the way they were presently.

"Sensei." Leo's quiet plea drew Splinter's gaze and he flinched a little at the intensity of it. "We were just-"

"Yame!" He commanded again before furiously gesturing to the empty seat behind the still-steaming cup of cocoa. "What have you done to dishonor our guest so profoundly that she runs from the one place she has in this world where she is safe? Do you care so little for the blessings that we have been given? Or the danger she is in should the Shredder find her and learn of what she knows!?"

The shock in the room was palpable, trembling the air so thickly their ears began to ring. "Master, she put us in danger, held out on us. We could have gotten hurt and she didn't even bother to call us back to tell us. Mikey and Don took a couple hard hits back there and she could have-"

"Silence!" Splinter rounded on Raphael, who had finally managed to get his breath back. "I heard your accusations and I was there when your brother called her earlier tonight. You all have been disrespectful and impatient with her when all she has done is try to impart to us the knowledge we need to be able to stand a chance against the Shredder. This has not been an easy transition for her and she carries with her more sorrow than she has let you know of. It was not her disrespect that caused the events of tonight, but yours. And now your callous words have caused her to flee from this place. She does not know how to navigate the sewers and she could become hurt. Find her and bring her home safely. Now! Do not return until you have her with you. Hajime! Now!"


	9. Revelations

**Sorry for the wait! I went on vacation with five paragraphs to go and finally got to building them today. Hope you enjoy a bit of character development!**

* * *

The sun was starting to brighten the New York sky when the four brothers met up on Casey's rooftop to regroup. They all were shame-faced, exhausted, and feeling whipped. "No luck on the streets." Raphael commented gruffly, tucking his helmet under his arm.

"No luck from the rooftops." Leo added, his expression bitter.

"No luck on any social media, police chatter, or subway cameras." Donnie commented dully, his eyes wide from staring at his computer screens and haunted with guilt.

"And no luck in the sewers. I kinda found footprints a couple of times, but they made no sense." Mikey concluded, looking like a lost pup.

"So that's it then. She doesn't wanna be found and we gotta go home empty-handed ta Splinter." Raphael chuffed, rolling his helmet around in his hands a few times. "How many hours in the Hashi we gonna get for This? 30?"

Everyone glared at their largest brother, but were too tired to pick a fight about it now. "We can't go home without her. There has to be something we haven't thought of." Leo simply stated, turning his head from Raphael's narrow gaze that just begged for their leader to say something to him.

"I've calculated the likely routes she might have taken and the required major intersections she would have to pass through to get to those most likely of destinations, but I am just one turtle and there are dozens of cameras I was watching at once. I estimate a 28.26% chance that she did pass through one of those intersections and I missed it because I was looking elsewhere. It's entirely possible that she is no longer traveling on foot as well, and then she may have passed through several intersections I was watching but went undetected because of the camera angle. The likelihood of us being able to find her now that she's had a six hour head start is dwindling into the single digits, given we have no direction to look in and too much ground to cover. She may not even be in Manhattan anymore." Donnie started to explain desperately, but Leo stopped his ramble.

"No Don, she's still here. I can feel it. She doesn't have anywhere to go and she knows better than to go somewhere or do something that will draw attention to herself and make herself a target for the Purple Dragons, the Foot, or any of the other street gangs the Shredder has control of. We just have to look at this from another angle." Just then Mikey's shell cell started ringing, which he quickly picked up.

"Yo, Case, what'd ya find my brotha?" Mikey waited for a second before beaming. "That's GREAT! … uh huh... uh huh... yep... uh huh... Right... ok, we'll be right there! Thank you, my man! I owe ya one!" Then with a click he hung up and stashed the cell on his hip.

"Well? Did Casey find her? Where is she? Is she hurt? Is she captured?" Donnie demanded, but Mikey only held up his finger.

"I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Casey found her and she's totally safe. She's in Central Park, Case is with her."

"And the bad news?" Leo asked, already preparing to move out.

"The bad news is she is totally refusing to come home and she's cryin' and stuff. Sayin' stuff like she needs ta leave before she does any more damage. And Case can't tell if she means skip town or skip planets." There was urgency to Mikey's tone, and the telling look he gave each of his brothers instantly spurred them to action.

"Move! We don't have long before dawn." Leo shouted, and then they were tearing across the rooftops together towards where Raph had stashed the Shell Cycle. "Raph, you and Mikey take the bike and go see if you can calm her down. Donnie and I will make our way there as fast as we can on foot."

"What?" Donnie asked incredulously.

"Seriously Leo?" Raphael whined, but tossed his helmet to Mikey nonetheless. "Can'tcha send Don and Mike?"

"Yeah!

"You were the one who yelled at her, Mikey has the best people skills and he's spent the most time with her. Maybe together the two of you can make things right again."

"Uh, guys? We have a problem!" Mikey called over as they leapt over another gap between buildings, looking at the text on his phone in panic. "She's not with Case anymore! She split when she found out we were comin' and now he can't find her!"

"She doesn't have a very good layout of the city. She won't get very far very fast. Leo and I can perimeter the park in the direction she headed. Where did Casey say she started running to?" Donnie called out as they leapt into the alley that hid the Shell Cycle.

"She was kinda near the middle, but then she took off towards the pond on the south end." Mikey shouted, jamming the helmet on and spurring Raphael into action. The two of them screeched off, leaving Leo to grin wryly at Donnie as they headed underground to take a shortcut to the park.

"Hey Don, you in the mood for a swim?"

* * *

Birds were chirping happily as the first few rays of sunlight started to color the clouds a brilliant pink and orange, Aaliyah watching the colors ripple in the puddle not too far from where she was perched. Sitting on a swing in the middle of a playground near the south end of Central Park, kicking her feet a little at the wood chips and swaying demurely, she thought about running more but found herself oddly incapable of doing so. Early summer brought with it warmer weather and more families out to enjoy it, and at this moment there were a few families out for early morning play at the park. The happy laughter and high-pitched squealing of a pair of small children had stopped Aaliyah in her tracks and now she was powerless to do anything more than sit and watch them romp and tousel.

_Mama, Mama! Lookit me swinging!_

_Look at you! You are getting so big!_

_Push me mama! Higher! Higher!_

**_HEY! Aaliyah! Not so high, dammit!_**

_Sorry, sorry._

_Higher mama! Not lower!_

_Baby girl, daddy says no. I'm sorry honey._

**_There you go, makin' me sound like the bad guy again. Why can't you just be on my side and tell her you said no?_**

"Hey there."

Aaliyah started from her thoughts with a jump, grabbing the chains of the swing tightly in surprise. She had become so oblivious to her surroundings as to allow the massive form looming next to her sneak up from behind her without detection, and with a sniffle she throatily graveled, "Ninjas. Always sneaking up on people."

"It's what we do." Raphael replied with the slightest hint of shyness to his tone, and she peered over her shoulder at him. He was dressed in his motorcycle gear, with a huge leather jacket and some craftily resewn leather gloves to fit his three-fingered hands, slightly-torn jeans and heavy-duty boots. His collar was pulled up around his neck, helmet tucked under his arm, sunglasses down and bandana covering the rest of his head so that the only green visible was just the little bit of his muzzle left shadowed yet exposed. Even still, he was easily the largest form at the park and bound to begin drawing eyes.

"You shouldn't be out here, Raph, it's getting too light out. I don't want you getting spotted and into trouble."

"Already in trouble, thanks, and you shouldn't be out here either. Do you know how long we've been scouring the city lookin' for ya? The hell are you even doin' here anyways?"

Aaliyah winced painfully and averted her eyes, looking back towards the shrieking children. She gave a thick swallow and cleared her throat a little, resuming her swaying. Raphael was patient while she took a moment to collect her thoughts, though with folded arms and a thoroughly defensive stance a bystander might think they'd been arguing.

"Have you ever thought about wanting a family, Raph?" She finally asked, his eyes flicking to the steadily growing number of children as the morning waxed brighter. The question caught him off guard and he blinked rapidly at her for it.

"Uh... I don't know if you've noticed but we don't exactly have those kinda options. 'S not something we can really get too hung up over, just part of life. Don't ever think about it. The hell does this have to do with anything?"

"Raph." Her tone was quiet, but firm. He took a step back, shocked, because it carried with it the same echo Master Splinter's carried when confronting his sons and he already knew the answer. She sighed and turned back to look at him, buffeted by the harrowed look he was met with. "I know you."

He snorted like and angry bull and paced a little, frustrated. "Well if you think you know so well then the hell you doin' askin? It's stupid to ask questions you know the answer to."

"That was my job as a teacher, Raph. Ask my students the questions I already knew the answers to so that they could figure out the answers on their own. I'm not a teacher if I just give them the answers. It's not my job to just tell them facts they can regurgitate on a test. I had to teach them how to think. Show them the path to the answers so they could get there on their own. That's the job of a teacher. It's lazy and unethical to just hand students a fact sheet for them to memorize for the tests. And I am not lazy, and I am certainly not unethical."

"You ain't our teacher. Master Splinter is." Raphael growled, growing increasingly agitated.

"No. I'm not your teacher. I cannot teach those who do not want to learn." She retorted with a hard edge to her voice he was unused to. "Everyone, Raphael, everyone we meet has something to teach us. Everyone has the potential to be a momentary teacher. But all that hinges on our decision to first be a student. The best teacher in the world will make no progress with a student who has no interest in learning."

"Oh, and you're supposed to be the very best teacher there ever was? Is that why you didn't call? Ya puttin' us all in danger to teach us somethin'? Ya some kinda gift to us that we should just listen to and trust blindly because some space blob dropped ya in the right place at the right time? You that much better than us? What makes you so goddamn perfect?" Raphael snarled back, dripping venom from his last sentence. But rather than tearing up like he expected or running off, her shoulders fell sadly and she looked up at him with a painful blend of disappointment and understanding.

"Raphael... I'm nowhere even close to perfect. I am so far from perfect you might as well put my picture in the dictionary under the definition of 'imperfect.' I'm no gift. In fact, I feel like I'm a burden more than anything. And while I don't expect you to trust me blindly I did at least hope that you would give me a chance to prove myself to you and show you that I am doing everything I can to help you and your family."

"You mean like you just did?" He spat back, trying to keep up his guard but feeling deflated beneath that look she was giving him.

She sighed and looked down at her lap, looking about as fiery as he felt despite his aggressive stance. "Raphael, if someone were to give your family $1,000 do you think it would help you?"

Startled again by the seemingly random question, he huffed a chuckle and shook his head. "Well yeah. That'd be more money than we've ever had all put together. What's the catch?"

She looked up with a slight smirk, a little bit of wind returning to her sails. "You have to fight a robot."

He laughed outright at that, rolling his shoulders confidently. "Seriously? One robot? I do that every day for free. Gimme an army of robots and I'll still be happy with that kinda payment!"

"Even if that robot was Nano?"

He narrowed his eyes, the beginnings of understanding starting to dawn on him. "Well yeah. I'd take him on again if it meant we'd get paid. … So is that why you didn't say anything? You knew that we'd get a little extra money if we fought him again?"

She nodded and Raphael rubbed his hand over his head briskly. "The guy he was protecting stole a lot of jewelry and gold and gems. There will be a reward for the return of those items and you don't get the reward until you chase Nano to the place where the stolen items are hidden and finally put an end to him by electrocuting him. I was trying not to say anything about it because I wanted it to be a surprise. That, and you need to be really focused to beat Nano the second time. He's bigger, smarter, and nastier the next time around. I didn't want you guys being distracted and possibly getting hurt."

He stared down at her for a long moment before dropping his shoulders in defeat and taking a seat on the wood chips next to Aaliyah. "So this really didn't have anything to do with teaching, huh?"

She chuckled and swung to bump him with the swing a little. "Well, as an added bonus I thought it might drive the point home that it really doesn't do you boys any good to hang up before you've gotten all the information you actually need or else you might have to face the same monsters multiple times. And in some cases... you just have to flat face some monsters several times because of one reason or another. But no, mostly this was about me trying to help you out the very best that I can, even if that means you have to do a little extra fighting."

Raphael nodded and smirked. "And I do love a good fight."

"Heh, I know you do honey. So... do you think you could forgive me for what happened last night?"

"Agh. It ain't you who needs forgiving. I lost my temper. Again. I was bein' hasty like Casey said and I was jumpin' to conclusions because... I don't trust people easily. It's not something I do."

She nodded and smiled at the several children that had accumulated while they'd been talkiing. "Meeting someone new can be scary. You don't know them, so you don't know what tells to look for, and you never know if they're being honest or being fake. Women especially can be scary to meet because they seem to be masters at hiding what they want hidden. They have fancy clothes and make up and eyelashes to bat at people and hide behind. Women are scary. I don't blame you for being cautious. But... I mean... I'm not so scary, am I?"

He chuffed and rolled his amber eyes onto her, looking her half-smile over with only the most cursory of scrutiny. "Naw. You're alright."

There was a beat of silence between them, buzzing peacefully with the sound of childish merriment. Just as Raphael was about to suggest they head home, having drawn in the breath required to do so, Aaliyah spoke once more. "You'd be a great father, you know that?"

His lungs forced the breath from his chest in a great laugh, rolling backwards onto his hand at the absurdity of the statement. "I what? You're one crazy chic, you know that? I mean look at me! I'm a hotheaded mountain of a turtle. I break stuff just by bein' around it too long. I'm not exactly parental material."

The smile she gave him killed the laughter on his tongue, spearing it straight through to his heart where it stilled and clenched under the weight of it. "Maybe not this minute, but I've seen it. I know you weren't exactly lying when you said you hadn't thought about it, or rather you hadn't allowed yourself to think about it. I know you think it's out of your reach completely and therefore you shouldn't spend time thinking about what it might be like to have a family of your own. But I've seen it. I've seen what a caring and attentive father you have the potential to be. You would be one of the very best. After all, you had one of the best as your own example to learn from. If you want a family when this nonsense with the Shredder is finally done, you could have it. And it would be the most beautiful dream you'd never want to wake up from. But only if you want it."

The way her words struck so painfully home, knowing the very deepest and private dreams he'd never consciously allowed himself to dream, ripped the air from his throat and left him blinking at her with wide eyes. Almost as if bidden by every fiber of his soul, he was helpless against the motion of his eyes as they scanned the sea of happy faces around him. He did want it. More than any other dream or fantasy involving motorcycles or victory, he wanted a family so badly it physically ached in his chest. All he could muster in response was a scowl and a gruff 'hm,' not daring himself to speak or else belie the raging storm of emotion that she'd so easily set afire in him.

"Could you imagine it for me? Just for a second? Pretend with me that one of these was yours? Maybe that little girl in the dress on the stairs? Could you picture it for me? Actually having a kid? What would that mean to you? Would she be important to you?"

Still a malestrom in his heart, Raphael managed to clear his throat and dislodge some of the emotion there, his voice still raspier than normal. "Yeah. She'd be everything."

"What would you do if she was ever taken from you?"

That thick emotion in his chest instantly caught fire like napalm and he snarled viciously. "I'd tear down every Foot and every door that was stupid enough to stand in my way. I'd flatten a city ta find her and then some."

"And what if she died?"

Raph turned his head, the rise in pitch next to him sending his alarm bells sounding. Tears were falling from Aaliyah's face and suddenly her questions all fell into place with a painful rush of sympathy and self-chastisement. Splinter's words echoed in his head about pain he couldn't understand and here, now, he was finally getting a tiny lick of it. And it was the most bitter, heartbreaking thing he'd ever had to taste.

"I had a baby girl, you know this. You've heard me talk about her a little bit. Her name was Ellie. She was my world and I did everything I could to be the best I could ever be for her. Even when it was hard, I never let it show for her. She didn't need to know what her daddy was doing to me. She didn't need to know how hard it was being a first year teacher in an urban school. She didn't need to know that I was up until 3 AM most nights writing lessons and grading papers so I could be up at 6 the next morning and sitting at my desk by 7 just so the students could yell and throw things at me and at each other for eight hours while I tried to teach them science. And just when things were starting to get better. Just when I finally had a handle on my classes and could divorce her father because the counseling had failed... I died. I died and I was brought here.

Don't get me wrong, Raphael, I would never take any of my anger or pain out on you boys. I would never be so cruel as to even suggest that I want any of you to suffer because I am suffering. But I do need you to understand that I was emotionally abused for most of my life. My parents did it, my husband did it, my students did it. And now I can't, I physically cannot, raise my voice or fight back in directly confrontational situations. I can banter. I can tease. Hell, I can get in the middle of a screaming match and diffuse the situation without breaking a sweat. But the minute it becomes confrontational _**to me**_ and someone is angry _**with me**_, I shut down and I cannot function. My entire life I've only ever been told to 'shut my whore mouth' when I've tried to push back, and then when I would be upset about it Ellie would need something and I'd have to put on my best smile for her. So I've trained myself to completely shut down when people are yelling at me because if I can be numb about it then it's easier to be happy and smiling afterwards.

It's not something I like to do, it's something I want to get over, but you need to know that I cannot do direct confrontation. I agree to things I know I cannot commit to and I say things that are not true and I will do anything, _and I mean literally anything_, to get out of situations where I personally am being confronted with a lot of anger. So my one request, my one and only thing that I will ever ask of you is this: can you please come and talk to me about something that's bothering you before you get angry about it? If we can talk about it, I can deal with literally anything. But the second people are angry _**with me**_, I have been trained to shut down. So... is that something you could do for me? Could you talk to be about things before they get to the point of making you truly angry with me?"

She might as well have asked for the Shredder's helmet, the way Raphael was feeling. He dropped his head in complete shame, feeling like the world's biggest ass. Not only did he have no excuse to yell in the first place, but now he also understood perfectly why she had run. He heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed the top of his head, at a painful loss for words. "I can't make ya any promises. Ya know I'm a hothead, and I yell a helluva lot. I push and I fight and I'm a brawler by nature. I'm not so good with words and I get frustrated really easily. But I'll try. I'll do what I can ta talk to ya about stuff before I get too worked up about it, but you're gonna have to know that I don't have the best of records makin' what's in my head come out of my mouth."

Aaliyah laughed and wiped at her eyes, fingers licking away the tear stains on her cheeks and tugging her smile back into place. "Raphael, I may be educated but I married a redneck and taught at an inner-city school. I have no problem deciphering what you mean. And if I don't understand right away, I'm pretty good at asking the right questions to get it figured out."

He huffed a laugh and rolled to his feet. "Well then I guess we'll be able to get along just fine. Come on, this sun's gonna make me sweat so much we'll flood out the lair and we couldn't come home until we brought you back safely. The guys are waitin' and watchin' ta make sure I getcha back in one piece." He offered his hand with a smirk, which Aaliyah took with a smile and allowed him to pull her onto her feet.

She smirked with a casual glance around to see if she could spot any good hiding places for three large green ninjas. "I'm sure Donnie is loving that."

Raph chuckled and looked down, his embarrassed shuffle giving him away. "Yeah, he and Mikey both wanted to be the ones to talk to ya. They, well, we all figured I was the last person you wanted to see right now but I was the only one dressed for the occasion."

She looked like she was going to quip back something dry, but stopped herself before she could. Considering him momentarily, she instead smiled warmly and replied, "I'm glad it was you. Otherwise I'm not sure I'd have been able to go back to the lair. I couldn't live there knowing you hated me."

He grimaced and motioned with his head for her to start walking with him in the direction he'd parked his bike. "I never hated ya. Just..."

"Just didn't trust me any farther than I could throw you."

He snerked and shook his head. "Yeah, somethin' like that. It's just... well ever since April it's been real tough. On all of us. Uh, some more than others. And I didn't want Donnie gettin' hurt like that. Cause I figured, you know..."

He growled in frustration, unable to phrase any of it the way he wanted, but a soft touch on his arm pulled him up short. "Raphael. I understand. Losing someone like April is something that you, and all of your brothers, will carry with you for the rest of your lives. Like a scar. But just because you take a hit in a fight doesn't mean you tap out. I've seen you boys take some hard hits. Some that take months to heal from. But one thing all of you have taught me is that you should never stay down. Never. You always get back up and you always keep going."

Raphael studied the slender woman at his side for a moment, thinking about what she'd said. Those damnable big blue eyes, reminding him painfully of April, watching him patiently and waiting for him. Why did she have to have the same blue eyes? Gruffly he rolled his shoulder and strode purposefully towards the bike before his heart could squeeze his chest any tighter with thoughts of those eyes framed by chocolate tresses instead of the blonde waves of silk that were their new habitation. "Yeah, guess you're right. C'mon. We gotta get back home."

Raphael swung his leg over the bike and patted the spot in front of him. Once Aaliyah was settled securely on the motorcycle Raphael roared the engine to life, instinctively relaxing the tension in his shoulders at the thunderous rumble. The snarl of the engine carried them through city streets and alleys until they pulled into an abandoned warehouse and the grumble of the motor stilled into silence.

No sooner was there peace than it was shattered again, Mikey's laughter a hammer thrown through the delicate moment and Aaliyah was swept off of the seat and wrapped into a nearly crushing hug. "ANGEL FACE! Oh my gosh I was so worried I thought I might never see you again! Then we'd never get to finish reading Justice Force or watching that YouTube playlist I made for you or cooking all of those things we printed recipes for or-"

"MIKEY! Stop! You're crushing her! Give her some space!" Leo commanded, prying his little brother from his parcel. "Aaliyah, are you hurt at all?"

"Just a couple skinned knees." She admitted shyly, at which point Donnie took over and began fussing over her. Raphael groaned and rolled his eyes, ushering the family below ground now that the sun was well above the horizon. Everyone was chattering as they descended the slightly uneven rungs of the welded ladder down into the darkness below. But the chatter instantly ceased when they entered the lair and found Splinter standing there waiting for them. His face softened in relief at seeing Aaliyah with them, and he held out his hands towards her to beckon her forward.

"My child, I had feared your trust in our family broken. It is good to see you here again and safe." Aaliyah cautiously came forward, gingerly extending her hands out to the old rat. He took them and inspected them, noting the new scratches and cuts on her palms. His nose twitched at the scent of iron and pain in the air, the new rips in her jeans catching his eye as well. "We have much to talk about as a family, but perhaps now is not the time. Donatello, see to it that Miss Aaliyah's wounds are cleaned and dressed. Michelangelo, I do believe there was a mug of chocolate left from several hours ago and she could use a warm drink. Please go to the kitchen and make sure that she is fed after a long night alone. Leonardo, I would see you in the dojo for your morning meditation. And Raphael, to the Ha'shi. Now."

"M-Master Splinter! No, please." Aaliyah quickly responded to his commands, dropping to her knees despite the sting that brought tears to her cheeks. Four sets of eyes widened. Nobody ever challenged Master Splinter. And yet here she was. "Master Splinter, please don't send Raphael to the Ha'shi."

Splinter seemed as surprised as any of them, his ears slowly rotating forward as much as they could and twitching with confusion and curiosity. "My child, Raphael has acted rashly and placed a member of our family in danger. It would not be right for his actions to go unchecked."

Aaliyah bowed her head, but continued earnestly. "I understand Master, but we worked everything out. I apologized for not doing everything I could to make my intentions clear, and he apologized for acting rashly. Both of us have some fault here and it wouldn't be right to only send Raphael to the Ha'shi. He and his brothers spent the night looking for me and their lost sleep is punishment enough for my ignorance and carelessness."

Raphael was stunned even more profoundly than if he'd been whacked in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Why was she sticking up for him? He knew he deserved time with his dreaded tricycle and knitting needles for yelling and being an idiot. Hell, if their talk had taught him anything it was that he deserved double whatever time he would have gotten for acting that way towards any of his brothers. Maybe even triple. So what in the shell was going on?

Master Splinter considered her carefully, the sound of his beard running through his paw the only disturbance to the pin-drop silence. Then the old master sighed and placed an aged paw on her shoulder, bending to take her hand and bid her rise. "My dear, we have rules about how we must conduct ourselves. And while I am glad to hear that my sons have made up for their actions, the rules have still been broken."

She gave the old rat a watery nod, which flattened his ears against his skull in sorrow, and then turned to his fiery boy. "Raphael, you will stay in the Ha'shi until your current project is completed. Is that understood, my son?"

Raphael went slack-jawed. Dad never gave him that kind of liberty. And considering they both knew that Raphael was nearly completed with his project anyways, this was the equivalent to a slap on the wrist. If he hurried he could be done in an hour. He mutely nodded to his father and turned on his heel, heading to the Ha'shi quickly before Sensei changed his mind.

Carefully he climbed up onto his tricycle and set to work, setting his jaw grimly as he picked up where he'd left off. The large red blanket nearly brushed the floor and the skein of yarn at his elbow was nearly spent. It was the last couple of rows. No one would know if he rushed. He could really push it and get done in 45 minutes. Aaliyah said so herself. They'd worked things out. This was just a formality because he'd shouted earlier and Master Splinter couldn't just let that slide.

But as he stared in contemplation at his needles there was the subtle sound of the soft scrape of a tail on the concrete and Raphael jumped, momentarily unbalancing himself. Splinter watched him with a careful expression that Raph couldn't quite place but felt like it was one of scrutiny of some kind. Then speaking softly in the dimly lit area, he addressed his most challenging child. "My son. I simply came to suggest to you that you consider carefully what you do with this blanket upon it's completion. And that you choose wisely what your work today will mean to you."

Raphael winced guiltily, grumbling an obligatory 'Hai Sensei' that sent his father sauntering smoothly from the room. He sighed and glared at the hateful thing, knowing already what had to be done. Much as it was tempting to rush through the last few rows and care little for their appearance... it wasn't right. He'd gotten off easy and as guilt ridden as he still felt about the whole thing, there was no way he could half-ass this now. Besides, he thought to himself as he looked over the rows and rows of perfect stitches, it would be a damn shame to ruin his streak now and tarnish his reputation for good craftsmanship with a couple of shoddy knots of yarn. And he knew just where to put it.


	10. Correction

The 'oof' that echoed through the dojo was followed by a deep groan of frustration. "Yame."

Aaliyah blinked up at the concrete ceiling, flexing her fingers and groaning again. "I thought I had it that time."

"Your form was fluid and smooth. But you have not given your body the rest it needs to heal. Your muscles are tired and need rest. Training is over for today and I do not wish to see you back in the dojo until Friday." Splinter responded calmly, stepping over to his newest student with his hand outstretched.

"Friday!? Sensei, really?"

"Really."

She groaned again but took his hand and gingerly got to her feet. She bowed respectfully despite the argument she had dancing on the tip of her tongue with 'Hai Sensei' and winced in pain as she started her cool down stretches. Splinter left her to it and the silence of the dojo followed after the scrape of his tail on the concrete and the quiet clacking of his shoes had disappeared.

_'This is not going to work. Shredder could attack any day now and I'm nowhere near where I need to be. If I had to get past a laser-filled hallway like April needed to when they first fought Agent Bishop I'd be dead. Casey Jones would get through with fewer scratches than I would. Maybe Raph would help me with some strength training. Splinter can only do so much with these noodle arms. Like he said, my handstand was good but I just don't have the muscle to keep myself upright.' _

Aaliyah winced again as there was a particularly painful tug on one of her muscles while she was stretching her inner thighs in a seated butterfly stretch. "Ok… Maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow I will Definitely work out with Raphael."

"You know, Master Splinter is giving you a few days off to **rest**. If you push yourself too much then you could end up hurting yourself more than any help you might think you're getting by working too hard." Leo's voice startled Aaliyah and she jumped a little. She hadn't meant to say anything out loud but now that Leo was here maybe he could help her stretch at least.

"Here, pull up on my arms if you would." Clasping her arms behind her back and straightening them out, Leo put his hand beneath hers and lifted up slowly. "I just have so much more I need to do! I'm nowhere near where April was and after all of the Foot activity this past week I just know there's something coming. What if I need to sneak into TCRI or break you guys out of Bishop's underground bunker? It'll be weeks at least before I can even make the handspring I've been practicing and probably months before I can even **think** about training in any hand-to-hand combat. I can't just **stop**. Something is coming and I need to be ready!"

"Something is always coming." Leonardo answered coolly, letting go of her arms and stepping around her to pick up her ankle. Aaliyah laid back while he helped to stretch her hamstrings and she huffed irritably.

"I know. But I also know that there's so much that I can't do that I need to be able to do and I'm worried that if I don't push myself to be able to meet April's standards that somebody could really get hurt and it would be my fault. The '87 April didn't need to be a ninja, and that was fine. Then the '03 April was more like a part-time ninja and she was a huge help to the team that way. After that there was the 2012 cartoon April and she was training to be a full Kunoichi in addition to being a keystone to the alien plot to taking over the world. Every incarnation of April just gets more and more badass and I just flat cannot compete with that. Not with the way things are going here. Everything is moving in fast forward and I'm no Avatar. I can't master everything in a couple of months no matter how hard I train."

"Then stop being so hard on yourself. Look, the way I see it, if what we needed was a soldier or another ninja then we would have been sent another ninja. But we weren't. And that means that we don't need you to become a ninja overnight. We need you because of everything that you already are. You're not April, and you weren't meant to be April. Just be your best self, and everything else will fall into place." Leo explained quietly, finishing Aaliyah's stretches.

She nodded grimly and let him help her to her feet. He was right, but that didn't make her fears any less potent. "I just wish I had a better idea of what that was." Leo's strong, calloused hand rested on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"You'll figure it out. But in the meantime, you need rest. You've been in here almost more than I have for weeks now. Go have a warm bath and grab a book to read. The world isn't going to end before Friday."

Aliyah snorted and grinned at him humorously. "Don't jinx it." They shared a laugh that faded warmly, Leo's understanding smile and last squeeze to her shoulder all the needed motivation to turn her back on the dojo and head for her room. Leo was always a help to talk to about the burden of responsibility. As the leader of his brothers he understood the heavy weight of keeping everyone safe and the painful consequences of failure. Over their battle strategies and talks about possible events and episodes they'd found themselves sometimes commiserating over the toll such a burden was on their hearts.

One night last week after a particularly painful loss to Shredder's mutant army he'd amassed in the last few years she'd found the leader in blue sitting silently in the kitchen, head in his hands and tea long waxed cold. She'd been silent as a church mouse, but it was no surprise to her when Leo addressed her presence. It was near impossible to sneak up on a ninja, even at two in the morning.

"Donatello could have died." The pain in his hoarse voice scratched at her heart and she noiselessly stepped up to Leonardo's side. "I should have seen that second tanker coming."

"I heard." It may have been all she could say, but certainly not all she could do. Tapping his arm gently she coaxed him out of his defeated hunch and took his hand, leading him out of the dimly lit room to pad towards the shared bedroom. She stopped him at the door frame and gestured in to the cacophony of snores and sounds of slumber.

"Leonardo, what do you see?" She asked in a low whisper, urging him with another wave of her hand to look around.

"Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael sleeping." He responded simply, and Aaliyah nodded at him. She led him back to the kitchen and sat him down at the table again while she busied herself at the stove to warm him up a new cup of tea.

"No matter what kinds of close calls you boys had tonight, your brothers are not dead. They're sleeping safely and soundly in their own beds tonight. Nobody is stuck in the needle room. Nobody is buried underground. And that means that you brought everyone home in one piece tonight. Good calls, bad calls, and close calls considering. Everyone is home, and everyone is safe. And that means you did your job. And if you ask me I think you do it better than anyone else ever could."

He seemed to pause and consider that for a while, giving Aaliyah the time needed to finish heating the water and pour it over a few of his favorite tea leaves. Aaliyah brought over the steaming cup and traded it for the cold one at his wrist, suddenly frozen by a glittering pair of icy blue eyes filling her vision.

"Thank you."

Suddenly bashful she dashed her eyes away and scurried back to the sink with the cold tea. She still wasn't quite used to being around them all of the time and occasionally a gesture, a catch phrase, a wink would catch her off guard and set her face aflame like it was now. "No problem. I know your job isn't easy, and that sometimes the things that Raph says can get under your skin. It's a thankless job and sometimes it would be really nice if someone else could do it but at the same time you know that you wouldn't wish it on any of your brothers because the weight of it can be so darn heavy sometimes. You're happy to carry it, but that still doesn't mean the responsibility doesn't keep you up at night."

Aaliyah chanced a glance at the leader in blue and she paused at the profound look he was giving her. "Yeah. That's … That's right. How-?"

She laughed and shook her head, placing the newly cleaned teacup back in the cupboard. "Teacher, Leo. It's not exactly the same, but it's close. Being responsible for the education of 200 kids who would really rather be doing almost anything other than what you want them to do isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's a lot of pressure, and I kid you not I remember honestly telling some of my friends that I wouldn't even wish that kind of personal hell on the Shredder."

Leonardo laughed a little at that, and it warmed her heart to see him looking better. "The responsibility for others is hard. I worry a lot that by me being here, I'm adding to your burden. I may not be there with you on missions or anything, but by listening to my stories and episode recaps, you're taking responsibility for my information and how you use it out there on the streets. And for that, I'm sorry. I don't like being a burden on you guys."

Leo deadpanned and it took all of the control she had on her facial muscles to hold back the mirth that was bubbling up at the expression. "I have never seen you make a single mess you haven't cleaned up and I've never seen you take more than one slice of pizza. Ever. Raph's animal hospital is more of a burden on this family than you are, and most of the time those things never step foot in our home. If anything, you've alleviated so much of that burden because I can go into a fight armed with a bit of insight. I'm not running in blind nearly as often anymore. That is a huge relief for me. It means I can keep my team safer. Thank you for that."

She blushed darkly at that and covered her face, keening. Leo, concerned, leaned forward and placed a hand on her forearm. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

Shaking her head vigorously, Aaliyah carefully peeled back her hands and fanned her face a bit. "Heaven sakes Leo, you can't just say nice things like that or I'm going to melt in a puddle on the floor!"

He rolled his eyes a little and sighed, shaking his head but releasing her arm. "You've been here for weeks! You're **still** getting embarrassed?"

"Maybe." She grumbled miserably, grinning despite her flushed appearance. Leo continued to shake his head at her, chuckling in good humor at her antics.

"You know Michelangelo is convinced he's going to somehow get you and Donatello together. And shocked as I am to say it, I think Mikey would have an easier time trying to talk him into making the first move!"

"Leo!" Aaliyah cried, smacking his arm and burying her head in her hands again.

"What? He's been talking about it for weeks. It can't be any kind of surprise to you."

"No, Leo, it's not that. It's just... I can't. I can't do that." Her voice was muffled and strained, but understandable. At least, so far as the words were concerned. The meaning behind them was still a bit of an enigma to Leonardo.

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand. What do you mean?" He asked curiously, carefully working to pry her arms apart in an effort to unbury her face.

"Leo, I can't do that to the team. I can't do anything that might distract the team. I might get someone hurt. There's just so many ways that getting into any kind of relationship might go terribly wrong! There's so many ways ALL of this could go terribly wrong! What if I take a slice of pizza that Mikey would have warmed up before a mission? Then he's hungry while you're out trying to fight Foot Mutants and he's unfocused! Then what if he gets hurt because he's unfocused? And that's just a slice of pizza! What if I DO try a relationship and I take time away from Don's projects? And he doesn't have the time to make the gadgets that the team needs to defeat a villain you're fighting! Someone could get hurt! Someone could die!"

"Hey, hey, hey. Easy." Leo soothed, capturing her waving hands and holding them still. "Take it easy. You're starting to sound like me and Don. I didn't realize this was causing you so much stress. I can tell Mikey to back off, it was mostly in good fun anyways, but..." He paused to order his thoughts, trying to rack his brain for any kind of sage advice Sensei might have given on a topic like this. "Master Splinter once told me that I need to trust my brothers to do what they have been trained to do. They've been trained to fight, and as much as I might worry that they won't see something coming or might choose an ineffective kata while we're fighting, I have to trust them. Maybe you should trust Don to know how to prioritize his time and be responsible."

Aaliyah eyes him skeptically for a moment but eventually relented a little. "Maybe."

"But you do bring up a good point that maybe now isn't exactly the most ideal time for Mikey to be trying to play Matchmaker. I can talk to him." She returned Leo's knowing smile and chuckled, the both of them feeling so much the better for talking.

"Thanks Leo. That would really help me feel a lot better. I know it's not always easy having me around all of the time, and I know it's probably a little weird having a girl in the house. But I really am trying to minimize the awkwardness."

He nodded and gave her hands a squeeze before letting them go. "I know, and I appreciate it. We all do. Thanks for coming in. I think I might be able to go to bed now."

And that was the best thing she'd heard all day. Even now, days later, Aaliyah was still smiling about being able to help. It made the sting of her bruises and the deep, throbbing ache in her muscles more tolerable, because they were for a good purpose after all. Of course, a hot shower and a couple tall glasses of water were a help as well. And now that she was no longer drenched in sweat her concerns surrounding any discomfort she might cause the family's sensitive olfactory senses were no longer enough to keep her from finding a place to flop on the couch.

The fact that it was currently occupied by Michelangelo and Raphael who were deeply involved in a heated Halo war was only dissuasion enough to steer her a few feet to the left where the bean bag was stationed. Normally more entertaining than soothing, the muted laughter and sounds of friendly competition underscored by the background music and explosions had a deeply calming effect on Aaliyah's perpetually stormy mind. All was right with the world and at least for a moment there was nothing to do but enjoy the serenity of brotherly camaraderie.

It wasn't until there was a pause in the game that Aaliyah noticed she'd faded out of consciousness for a while. Eyes closed, ears perked attentively, she listened intently to see what had brought about the change in pace.

"-eed someone to come be my supervisor. I've been on the line with this same customer for over an hour! If I have to specify 'right click' versus 'left click' one more time I'm going to have an aneurysm!"

"Well she can't help you right now. She just passed out over there and she needs a break, brah. Go see if Leo will help ya!"

"But Leo will just tell me that I need to contact my actual supervisor and you know how it looks when I have to call them! Raph? Can't you just take a break for a minute and help me out?"

"Ya really want me ta try an' be reasonable with a guy you can't get through to? Cause I can guarantee I'mma end up cussin' the guy out."

That was all the explanation she needed to hear. Silently she stuck her arm up into the air, bodily unmoving and eyes still closed, and motioned with her finger for Donnie to come over. "Oooooh you in trouble now brah! You woke up Aaliyah!"

Donnie scurried over, looking rather guilty, but Raphael just snorted. "Seriously? I wake her up all the time and I only ever got cussed at once. And even then she apologized. Worst she'll make him do is have him swear he'll go to bed before 3 next week." And with that declaration he resumed the game, catching Michelangelo off guard and making the youngest brother scramble for the controller with a high-pitched screech.

She rubbed her eyes and stood up with some assistance, inwardly grumbling about how stiff and sore all over she felt but not letting a bit of that show on the outside. Instead she smiled through the dull ache and trotted sleepily after Donnie as he apologetically led the way to his workstation. "I'm so sorry to wake you up. Really I am, but I'm painfully desperate. As far as I can tell, what he's actually having trouble with is not something we can cover. It's a software issue, not a hardware issue, but he won't listen! I've tried ending the call 17 times, put him on hold for no reason 8 times, and still I can't seem to convince him that the problem he's experiencing is outside the realm of my position and that I could be fired for trying to assist him with the programming of another company's software! If there's any way you can convince him that there's nothing more I can do for him, I would be eternally in your debt."

"Careful Don, eternity is a long time to be in someone's debt for something." Aaliyah teased, rubbing the last of the sleep from her eyes. Her voice was still thick with exhaustion, even after clearing her throat a few times, so it was with a deep sigh she rubbed her eyes and glared at the dark liquid in one of many coffee mugs scattered about the work space. '_Damn hateful drink of bitterness and pain'_ she thought spitefully as she picked it up and took a swig, unblinking even as her insides curled up in disgust at the cold blackness sliding down her throat. But it did help to even out her tone, and so for that she swallowed it without complaint.

"Alright Dee. I'm ready. Hand me the headset." She finally stated, holding out her hand and preemptively placing a finger over his lips. "And don't go thanking me yet. I still have to see if I can get rid of him."

She adjusted the headset to her much smaller size and cleared her throat once more, then connected the call and put on her most brilliant smile. And all Donatello could do was watch (stare) in wonder as she handled his most difficult caller of the day with ease and grace. From the phony introduction to the pretended searching of her records for Donatello's conversation, on and on through several more patient attempts at troubleshooting his dilemma, she flowed through the conversation with a comfortable air of authority that reminded him of Leonardo in a way. It wasn't the first time he'd asked her for help, and every time left him just a little more starstruck. And aching, though not in any way he could simply stretch into submission.

Donatello was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Aaliyah's laughter and something dark flared momentarily in his chest when he heard the reason for it. "That's very kind of you sir, but I'm afraid it's against company policy for me to accept date invitations from customers. No, no, I'm afraid not. But it was very nice to be able to help you this evening sir. No, I'm sorry, but I can't do that either." There was more giggling and Donnie's scowl only deepened. This man had been giving him nothing but grief for an hour and now he was flirting with Aaliyah? Oh no. No no no. If that was the way he was going to play, Donnie was just going to have to pay his computer a visit and-

"Yes, thank you again for using our services and don't hesitate to call the next time you have problems with our hardware. I'm sorry we couldn't help you today. Oh well that's very nice of you to say. Yes, yes, yes I'll tell him. Thank you. Goodbye."

She pulled off the headset with an elegant shake of her hair. "Here you go. I'll let you get back to work."

He accepted it gratefully and fingered the soft folds of the ear pieces momentarily. "Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't intervened."

She grinned humorously at him. "Probably gone and drowned your sorrows in another cup of coffee **before** it went cold on your desk."

And dammit if she wasn't simply infectious. "Either that or taken Raphael up on his offer." She laughed and shook her head at him, and Donnie couldn't help but giggle a little bit with her.

"Well he certainly was nasty enough to deserve it." She offered with a wink, only confusing Don further.

"You seemed to get along with him just fine." He countered, trying his best to keep the sharpness from his tone. "Or rather, he seemed to get along just fine with you. What message did he ask you to pass along?"

The offhand remark didn't seem to phase her though, as she just laughed it off. "I was just happy to get him off the phone! I don't know how you managed to handle him for an hour! He was terrible! And his 'message' was just as nasty. But at least you can get back to work now."

Odd as it was, knowing that she hadn't actually enjoyed the phone call, that the laughter and banter was fake, was as comforting as it was disconcerting. "Oh, actually my shift was over 28 minutes ago. I just need to log my activity and sign out. I'm sorry to have disturbed your nap. I owe you for that."

She waved her hand dismissively with a 'pfff' and stood to stretch. "Naw, it's alright. I've gotta earn my keep somehow."

Donnie was uncomfortable with that remark, and his facial expression showed it. "Aaliyah, you do more than your fair share around here."

Whether she was ignoring her slight at herself or simply hadn't meant very much by it in the first place, he wasn't sure. But she gave another wave of her hand and made an 'agh' sound, which Donnie could only assume meant the topic was not one she wanted to discuss. And that meant a change in topics was the best course of action. Luckily, one presented itself in the form of a second pained stretch and an unsuccessful attempt to temper her grimace at it.

Donatello knew she'd been training hard but, as seemed to be the pattern with her, aftercare was not high on her list of priorities. Often it required Splinter's direction, a firm hand, or dogged persistence for her to accept assistance of most kinds. But this was especially true of more personal kinds of assistance. At first he thought that it was because she was uncomfortable with invasions of her personal space. However, after observing Aaliyah and Michelangelo on several occasions and taking note of just how much physical contact the two of them shared, everything from Aaliyah flopping voluntarily on Mikey's shell to their regular cuddling during movies, he'd come to refute that hypothesis.

And in place of it he formulated a new hypothesis, one that he was still in the process of testing. Step one, a verbal offer for assistance. She seemed very observant of the intentions of those around her, a skill she shared with Michelangelo and one Donnie was envious of, and it meant that even an implied offer for assistance was enough. "You seem sore. A massage would help with those knots in your muscles."

Step two, verbal denial of said offer. "Oh, thanks, you're very sweet. But I'm ok. I just need to stretch them out a little longer next time. Thank you, though."

Donnie was still trying to determine why this was always step two. It could be a trained response that she'd practiced so many times it was simply her first reaction. It could be that she was still working to be as little of an inconvenience to the family as possible. It was possible that, after coming from a world where she was married, she assumed any verbal offers for physical contact were less than innocent in nature. Or, perhaps, she assumed he was simply being courteous and truthfully had little interest in what was being offered but was offering it anyways out of obligation.

There were a myriad of possibilities, some more likely than others, with the remaining possibility that it could be any combination of the individual reasons for her verbal denial. But the follow-up action that led to the most successful outcome was, interestingly, inaction. Step three, casual acceptance of verbal denial. This was most puzzling, but after watching Mikey repeatedly and attempting several various responses to her verbal denial, it seemed like this was the appropriate response and therefore Donnie rarely deviated from it.

"Alright, that's fine. You're probably tired. Would you like to go back to sleep?" He asked, turning away and signing out.

"Oh, no, I'm up now. Do you need any help with anything in the lab today?"

Donatello's lips quirked up in a slight smile. "Actually, I could use another hand. I've got a bit of wiring that I need to do on the Battle Shell that would go a lot quicker with some assistance, if you have a few minutes."

This was all true. But in addition to thoroughly enjoying Aaliyah's company while working and needing some assistance as it was, this was also Step Four. "Of course I do! Splinter's banished me from the dojo for a few days so I've got all the time in the world."

"Well alright then. I'll grab a spool of wire and some wire nuts if you wouldn't mind grabbing the toolbox."

"Aye aye, Cap."

Donnie chuckled and went about pulling together the things he'd need for the job at hand, met his assistant at the vehicle, and the two of them got to work. Conversation flowed easily, especially with all of the instruction and illumination he provided while they worked. Unlike working with Raphael, Aaliyah would give more than one word in response to his ramblings. And unlike Leo, she wasn't simply listening to be courteous. And unlike Mikey, she took no issue to simply working in silence when concentration was required even for long periods of time.

And while she didn't have a lot of skill or experience with electrical or auto mechanical systems, she was a fast and eager learner. Already she was picking up on a lot of the technical jargon he used when working. "Aaliyah, would you mind stripping that end while I pull a run down the chassis?"

"Sure thing Donnie. Do you want the grounding wire this time?" Her voice was slightly muffled by his position under the converted garbage truck, but still understandable.

"Yes please. And actually if you could cut the other ones back a little I think I might need a little extra length to tie the grounding wire in to the frame." He rolled his hand built creeper from his position at the rear bumper up to the very front of the truck, measuring out the extra length he'd need to make it up into the engine compartment.

Aaliyah's voice floated up to his ears, but as it turns out 30 tons of steel and engineering don't conduct aerial sound very well. "What?" He asked loudly, only to be answered by another unintelligible garble of syllables. "I still can't hear you, could you speak up?"

His shout was done as an aside to his current object of concentration, calculating out exactly how much wire he would need. Every scrap and part he salvaged was precious and therefore not easily wasted. He didn't want to overshoot his estimate, as that would result in wasted wire. But undershooting his estimate would mean he'd need to use unnecessary wire nuts to tie in a little piece to make up the difference. All things considering, overshooting his estimate was better than undershooting it. But if he could help it, he'd still like to minimize the loss of his wire.

But a sudden sensation at the juncture of his sides and his shell threw thoughts of his wire, and the wire itself, far from him. He yipped and smacked his head on the engine above him, the wire rolling away lazily, a solid 'thud' sounding through the garage as well as his cranial cavity.

"Oh Donnie! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?"

He groaned and rolled out from under the engine, clutching his head and blinking against all the stars in his vision. "Fine, ah, fine. Ow."

"I am so, so sorry. I was just trying to get your attention but you were so focused you weren't answering and I should have just poked your shoulder or something. I'm sorry, that was really stupid of me. Do you need me to get you some ice?" Little warms hands were dancing over the scales on his shoulders and his face, trying to carefully turn his head so Aaliyah could inspect his forehead. If Don hadn't been trying to blink through the throbbing in his forehead he might have been a little bit more embarrassed to have her so close. But as it was, he was actually grateful for the pain, because without it the tickle to his side might have set something else throbbing.

"No, no I'm ok." He groaned, gingerly pulling his hand away from his face. "What did you need, exactly?"

She hissed at the lump already forming on his forehead, cupping his jaw in such a way that it was difficult for him to discreetly avert his eyes from the sight of her leaning over to look at him. "I was just trying to ask exactly how much longer you wanted me to make the grounding wire. Are you sure you don't want some ice?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. I've suffered worse for less." He answered quickly, drawing himself away with a subtle clearing of his throat. "I think two inches ought to do it, thanks."

She chuckled in embarrassment and looked him over once more with a scrutinizing gaze that quickly dropped into something like incredularity. "Alright then. Note to self, fanon confirmed. Don't do that anymore."

Donnie's eye ridges knotted in confusion and he shifted to look up at her more fully. "W-what? What 'fanon' are you testing this time?"

Her face flushed a bright pink and she looked away quickly. "Sorry. I really need to stop doing that. It's not appropriate and you deserve to be treated with more respect."

"No, Aaliyah, I didn't mean it like that." But, then again, that wasn't exactly true either. "Ok, maybe I did a little bit but really it's alright. I was just curious about what fans from your world could possibly already have come to a consensus about given the situation at hand. That I get distracted by my work?"

She just laughed and shook her head, the flushed color draining a little bit from her cheeks into something more in the normal range of her usually peachy-gold complexion. "No, no, That one is indisputably canon. The fanon is that the underside of your shells are sensitive. There's not really a whole lot in canon to dictate where is more sensitive and where is less sensitive, so there's a lot of various headcanons about it. But the general fan consensus is that since the underside of your marginal scutes are almost never touched, they'd be pretty sensitive. I've wondered about it for a while but I wasn't exactly looking that hard for an opening. So when I couldn't get your attention and you were focusing on the wires I thought I might be able to take advantage of the situation. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. It wasn't right of me. I promise I won't do it again."

Donnie hemmed and fidgeted a little, toying with the modified creeper he was still sitting on. She'd been looking for an opportunity to touch the underside of his shell? He was still getting used to her acceptance of him and his brothers, and she'd assured him on several occasions that the word 'freak' was the farthest thing from her mind when she thought of him and his family, but moments like this flared his insecurity a little bit. Or maybe a lot.

"N-no, it's alright. It's natural for people to be curious about the oddities they encounter. Especially when they spend an extended amount of time around said oddities. It's understandable."

Aaliyah's gasp threw him off and he jumped a little at it. "Donatello! No! Bad Donnie! And shame on you for thinking that way!"

"Excuse me?" Don was absolutely flabbergasted. Shame on him? For saying only what was plainly obvious? Maybe she was under the impression that he was calling her shallow and superficial... "Aaliyah, it's just human nature. I'm not accusing you of-"

"No. Donatello, you stop that sentence right where it is and hush for a minute." Aaliyah interrupted with a wave of her finger at him and a stern expression. His annoyance at being cut off flared but he closed his mouth nonetheless to hear whatever it was she had to say that was so important it couldn't wait until the end of his sentence.

Curiously, however, she turned on her heel and marched towards the garage door. At first Don feared he may have crossed some unknowable line and offended her, but then even more curiously she shut and locked the door before walking quickly back to him. Then pushing his shoulder she rolled him a little bit further behind the airborne vehicle and let him glide to a stop.

He only had just righted himself when he suddenly jerked away and fell off of the wheeled metal plank, a dark forest green blush igniting from the top of his head down past his collar bone. Aaliyah was pulling her shirt over her head. Why- what- Of all the reactions he'd imagined her having to this conversation he'd never in his wildest of guesses have even considered this as a possibility. What was she doing? Why was she doing that? There was absolutely no chance it was an accident, which meant she was removing that article of clothing with purposeful intent and oh how he wished he could just sink into the floor rather than sit there gaping at the ground like an idiot. Maybe if he just held very still then he could vanish like his ninja training had taught him.

"Donatello. Please look at me."

_Oh shell..._


	11. Fairplay

This was a stupid idea. This was a very, very stupid idea. But if there was one thing I hated more than the fact that these brave heroes had to live in the refuse of the underbelly of the city they fought daily to protect, it was the idea that they all had long ago accepted that they were freaks who were destined to a life of rejection and heartache. And it was one I worked tirelessly to dispel. But out of the four brothers Donatello and Raphael were the hardest to convince, and that simply would not do.

"Donatello. Please look at me." _And please please please let this not be as awkward as I think it's going to be because I really really really want this to not be one of those stupid things I regret doing on a whim._

I wasn't entirely convinced that he would. He was raised a gentleman and he was just as likely to refuse as he was to accept. It took a long moment of embarrassed deliberation for him to come to a decision, a moment that was measured in the number of times I considered throwing my shirt back over my head and calling off whatever half-baked scheme I was still hastily trying to throw together. But eventually he did make a decision and slowly he turned to face me.

I could feel the blush on my cheeks creeping down my neck but I was careful to keep my face passively neutral as his eyes darted from the floor up to my face, flickering only for the briefest of moments down to the expanse of newly bared skin. I swallowed thickly and finally spoke, my voice croaking just a little bit in lingering sheepishness.

"Do you have a belly button?"

The absolute confusion that crossed his face, followed by rapid blinking and a slight shake of his head was almost worth the awkwardness of the moment. It was easily the most adorable thing I had ever seen. "I... what?"

"Do you have a belly button?" I repeated slowly, answered by more rapid blinking as he tried to process the question.

"N-no." He twiddled his fingers, eyes darting down to the body part in question before quickly averting elsewhere. "It would be physically impossible for us to have belly buttons, as it's simply a remnant of where the umbilical cord attaches to the fetus during gestation in a womb. We are reptiles that developed inside of eggs, therefore our developmental process doesn't require the transfer of fluids and oxygen and nutrients through an umbilical cord."

"Do you think belly buttons are 'oddities'?"

"No. Statistically speaking, it's far more common for a creature to have one than not, especially on a mammalian-dominated planet like Earth."

"How about hair? Do you have hair?" I asked, floofing the hair that cascaded down over my shoulders. Donnie shook his head, still at a loss for where this conversation was going. My next question about whether or not hair was an oddity to him received the same answer, as did my same probing about five fingers. _Ok, alright, so this is actually going better than I expected. This is good. Ok, now let's tie it all together. Hopefully I can stick the landing or else this will all be a total flop._

"Ok, so none of these things are weird or odd or freakish about me. Does that mean you have no interest in touching them if the opportunity and express permission to do so presented itself?" I finally asked, getting to the point of all of the unfathomable questions. Inwardly I was bracing myself, grimacing a little and wishing I had my own turtle shell to tuck into but I didn't let a bit of it show. Nope. Not after staring down my inner city students without blinking.

"Well, I -uh- no. I mean, yes. I mean, I would be interested, but not if it would make you uncomfortable." He bumbled out, tripping over his words in his awkwardness at the question.

"Well then come here." I invited, extending my arms out to him with my heart in my throat. He was rooted in place, indecision clearly displayed across his features. To be honest, I wasn't feeling too sure myself, but I had a point to make. I'd touched his bridge without permission, so it was only fair to extend the same courtesy. After another moment of deliberation he relented again to his curiosity, unable to pass up an opportunity such as this.

He approached much the same way you might try to sneak up on a wild and dangerous animal, taking my hand with as much confidence as he would have taken a lion's paw. I couldn't think of a time he'd ever touched either myself or Casey (especially the latter) simply for the sake of touching, and the intimate nature of it had my stomach twisting in knots. The butterflies that filled everything beneath my ribcage only intensified when I pushed my wrist through his fingers, causing them to slide up my forearm. _Oh gosh, I probably reek of pheromones right now._ His hands traveled further up to my bicep, and I grinned and flexed for him to try to cut the tension.

Donnie chuckled and gave it an experimental squeeze, noting how even when flexed I was still soft and pliant. But he hummed in playful approval, and I smiled brightly at him. His fingers found their way to my hair and he picked out a single strand to inspect. He dropped his goggles over his glasses and zoomed in on the string of protein, surprised at exactly how fine it was. He kinked it and tried to knot it, but it's elasticity prevented it from staying that way. "Does this hurt?"

I was almost about to shake my head no but then remembered he was holding my hair and decided I'd better refrain from accidentally getting it yanked out. "Nope. I can only feel where the hairs connect to my scalp. The individual strands don't contain nerves. It would be like... if you were to hold a piece of rope. I can feel you tugging on it like you'd feel someone tugging on a rope, but the rope itself can't feel. Except it's attached to my head."

"What's it like?" He asked, lifting his goggles and taking a healthier scoop of her hair to inspect.

"Having hair? Annoying." I laughed, but Donnie didn't look convinced. "It's always there, and always shedding. In your food, on your pillow, in your brush, in the shower, everywhere. But it is kinda nice to have. I mean, it keeps your head warm and you can play with it when you're bored. You can style it and cut it and do all kinds of really neat things with it. I cut my hair really, really short once. It was nice to have short because it didn't get my way and I didn't even really have to brush it. But I really do like having long hair. I think I look better with long hair than I do with short hair."

"It's beautiful." He commented, bashfully meeting my eyes.

"Thank you."

"May I?" He asked, moving to indicate he was interested in moving behind me. I nodded and rolled my shoulder angling myself so he only had to take a half step around to be behind me. His fingers pressed into the major muscle groups, thumbs tracing out the outline of them while his other four fingers balanced on my sides. _Oh come on, now is not the time to be ticklish! Keep it together, keep it together._ With a grin I swept my hair off of my shoulder blades and stretched my arms up high, shifting and wiggling them on the way back down to coerce my bra back into place. Pleased with the interested hum I could hear from behind, I then felt the gentle touch of one hand guiding my arm up a bit. I allowed him to shift and rotate my arms about while he watched the shoulder blades move and slide beneath the skin.

I might have felt a little more awkward about it if I didn't know Donnie's character as well as I did. Curiosity was his thing, and as long as he was either playing Doctor or Scientist his focus could keep him from distraction. Really I had a dual purpose for doing what I was doing. The first and most important reason was I wanted to make sure that everything was fair. But if I was perfectly honest with myself, there was a small part of me that just flat really wanted to indulge Donnie's curiosity about everything and anything. If he would have asked me to completely disrobe for science, I probably would have done it despite the permanent blush that would have affixed itself to my face. But it would have to be for science, because I still wanted desperately to cling to the fact that now was NOT the time for anything other than the science and business of taking down the Shredder.

Rather unexpectedly I bleated a pathetic little 'meh' when his thumbs dug into where my kidneys were situated. His hands jumped away with a hurried, "Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you ok?"

I looked over my shoulder at him and nodded, reaching around behind me to knead the sore spot. "Yeah, I'm good. My ribcage just stops right about here," I indicated with my fingers towards the middle of my back, "so everything below there is only about an inch away from the air. Spleen, Kidneys, digestive tract, everything."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, but that seems like very poor evolutionary design." He stated, replacing his hands on my back to continue prodding. "Now let's see... Latissimus Dorsi, Trapezius, Teres Major..."

Donnie muttered the names of the muscle groups as he found them, and I just giggled at his small slight at human design. He wasn't wrong. Compared to turtle shells human backs are terribly vulnerable. But I didn't have long to think about it before he was clearing his throat and stepping around again with my shirt in hand. I took it and stuffed myself into it, grateful to be finally covered again.

"Donnie, I really am sorry I poked your side without asking." I couldn't help but apologize again. I felt awful. Here I'd been doing everything I could to show these guys that they didn't have anything to worry about concerning the differences in our physiology and then I go and do something like that. Stupid me. But Donnie seemed unconcerned about it.

"Don't worry about it. It's behind us now. If you're still curious about my shell I could let you look at it." He offered, turning his back just a little. Tempting as it was, I knew myself well enough to know that was not a good idea for several very important reasons. So I just giggled and waved my hands a little bit, gently declining the offer.

"Thanks, but I think we have some wiring left to do. You said you wanted the grounding wire about an inch longer than the others?"

"Two, actually. Thanks." He corrected, using his foot to roll the creeper back towards the engine so he could get back to work. But not before he turned on some music we could work to. I was so grateful that things progressed fairly uneventfully from there, since I was still fairly flushed from my recklessness. Not that I was really surprised at myself. Pulling stupid stunts is kindof a specialty of mine, and making a fool of myself is a fairly regular occurrence. Actually, if anything I was surprised it went as well as it did. There were at least 27 ways that whole event could have gone terribly wrong but didn't, and I was so excited about it!

Excited enough that I actually started singing along with Donnie's music. Normally I'll try to keep it down to a low hum or maybe a murmur so I don't annoy him while he's working, a difficult feat for a former choir gal. And to my partial surprise, Donnie didn't say one word about it. I caught him looking my way once and went back to humming for a bit (just in case I was bothering him) but besides that the next several hours went by very pleasantly.

Helping Donnie work was one of my favorite things to do. Not only did he seem to really enjoy the company but I could also help him complete tasks just a tiny bit faster. And that was something I could do without worrying about repercussions down the road. So often was my brain power put towards analyzing everything around me and trying to figure out if what I was about to do might somehow disrupt the fate of the universe it was refreshingly soothing to feel like I was making a difference in a positive way. After all, that's what I'd been put here to do: help the turtles save the universe from the Shredder. And all I knew for sure was that an entire dimension was in danger of crumbling if I didn't do my job right. That's a lot of daily pressure to be under.

And so I found myself in Donnie's lab playing Jr. Assistant whenever I could. But to be fair I couldn't JUST be with Donnie. Fairness is very, very important to me. There were battle strategies to go over with Leo and some well-meaning playing to do with Mikey to keep him from driving the brothers crazy, training with Splinter so that I could hopefully someday be able to do what April had done, and refereeing to do between Raphael and whomever had ticked him off that day.

And then there was the enigma that was Arnold Casey Jones Jr. On one hand I liked having him around because he really gets along well with the brother and as a canon character I understand his importance in the TMNT multiverse. But sometimes I really wanted to just shrink him down and stuff him in a cookie jar so I wouldn't have to deal with him. When Raphael wears his cocky attitude, it's endearing. When Casey does it, I'm tempted to use words that I don't think anybody here believes I have in my vocabulary. But he's canon so we have to keep him around I guess. He's good for Raphael, so I'm happy to put up with him and his not-so-subtle efforts to tease and flirt.

But between all of these things, I was running myself ragged. And after helping Donnie with his wiring, updating some security codes, discussing some upgrades to the shell cells, helping him to brainstorm a few ideas for helpful tech in some of the upcoming missions, sorting through a box of salvaged parts and organizing them, pulling apart an old computer for Donnie to rifle through, and taking a stiff wire brush to some galvanized pipe in desperate need of some scrubbing I found myself nodding off in one of his rolling chairs. I barely registered the soft blanket that draped over me after a little while of silence from my corner of the garage.

But that silence didn't last forever, as Mikey bounded in announcing it was movie night a short while later. At least it felt like a short while later, anyways. Donnie chucked something at Mikey and tried to shush him but I was already awake so Don just rolled his eyes at his little brother.

"Come on! You just downloaded the new Avengers movie and we all gotta see it! It's time you came outta your cave brah!"

"Mikey, how many times do I have to ask you to knock? She was napping!"

"Dude! Even better! She'll be all tired and want to cuddle and fall aslee-" _**SMACK**_ "OW!"

I yawned and stretched, sleepily starting to speak but almost immediately was interrupted to point out that I was unintelligible. So I tried again. "Mikey's got a point, ya know. I start to slip when I'm sleepy and the last thing anyone needs is me snuggling and drooling on them. So you guys go ahead tonight. I'll hit the hay just as soon as I can see well enough to find which way the door went."

But my back was having none of it. I stretched and stretched and just couldn't get the ache out long enough to make it out of the chair. I was sure that Mike would protest my missing of his much-anticipated movie but surprisingly things were quiet. Then a strong pair of hands rested over the spot I was fruitlessly working to knead out and my favorite nasally voice offered quietly from behind me, "Why don't you let me help you with that? After all, you did help me with my projects today. It would only be fair."

I threw my head back to look up at him with a scrunch to my nose. Dangit Donnie! I would never know how but somehow he'd figured me out pretty quickly and never failed to bring out the trump card when he thought I'd decline an offer of his. Silently I cursed my internal need for justice and fairness, and cursed him just a little too because of the victorious twinkle in his eye. "Donnie, why you do this to me?"

Playing innocent he shrugged his shoulders and leaned over me a bit more. "Whatever do you mean?"

Heaving a dramatic sigh that made him roll his eyes at me I leaned back in the chair a little further to bonk the back of my head intentionally against his plastron. "Play my Draw Four Wild Card like that! You did that on purpose!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Liar."

He scoffed in mock offense and clutched at his pectoral scute. "Wounded. You've truly wounded me. I would never lie to you!"

"Mmm-hmm. Yep. Alright Mr. Pants-on-fire, go ahead. Do your thing."

"Doooooooonnie!" Mikey called from the other room, breaking up our small exchange of banter. The genius terrapin offered a hand, one I accepted, and helped me to my feet.

"Actually, I believe we'd better join the others first."

I tittered in false disappointment and snapped my fingers. "Oh darn. Guess that means your high-roller Uno card didn't pay off after all."

"What do you mean? I can multitask." He countered, stepping aside with a sweep of his arm and a confident grin that was about one wink away from dropping my resolve to the concrete floor. "After you."

Too caught up in a battle to regain my self control to argue, I soon found myself seated on the floor in front of Donnie's empty spot on the couch while he set up the evening's choice of entertainment. And suddenly I was back to being in way over my head. But I was boxed in with nowhere to go and suddenly extremely jittery.

Painful as my strained muscles were, I was still pretty sure I would be far better off just slinking away to my room and passing out for the night. Unfortunately, intuitive little Mikey was stationed to my right and effectively blocked my subtle attempts to slither away before Donnie could make it back to the couch. A butt scoot was stopped by a slide of his foot, maneuvering around it was greeted with enthusiastic bouncing over the movie and a hug that landed me right back where I'd started. I scrunched my face up at him in mild frustration and he just winked at me, the smug turd.

I couldn't be too mad at him though. Not really. Especially not after he winked at me. His cheeky grin faded and softened into something like concern and mild reproach. He tilted his head towards Donnie and indicated with his eyes that I should look that way. This I did, and through coincidence or Mikey's infallible timing happened to catch Don's eye. He was really doing his best to stifle the smile that was still very clearly etched into every scale on his face, and he quickly dashed his eyes away to finish uploading the movie, but the hopeful look and uncensored excitement was enough to anchor me in place.

I looked back to Mikey and he gave me a look of understanding that I knew meant he was perfectly aware of everything that was going on. He reached over and gave my shoulder a little reassuring squeeze and flashed another smile, and somehow it was the perfect response to my lingering unease. After all, it wasn't discomfort because I didn't want to be in the position I was. It was discomfort because I did. And that was an equally difficult position to be in, if not even more-so.

Luckily the movie passed quickly without much incident, not that I was able to watch any of it. I was pretty tense when Donatello sat down, even more-so when he leaned forward a couple of minutes later to begin kneading my shoulders. Leo's meditative breathing exercises definitely helped to keep me focused until all of the knots were worked out of what Donnie could reach, but by the end of the 45 minutes it took I was absolutely exhausted.

The firm, unyielding weight of his skillful hands lifted from my shoulders once he was done and the combined relief from my limp muscles and from no longer focusing all of my energy on remaining perfectly still and silent had me slumping against his knee. I was too tired to care, too tired to drag myself to bed, and too tired to find someplace better suited for napping. The typical movie-time din of Mikey's excited exclamations at each epic explosion and the back-and-forth commentary between Donnie and Leo about the action scenes was comforting in its light-hearted nature and brotherly camaraderie.

Sleep had already claimed my eyes when a pair of large, gentle hands urged me from the floor and settled my still-sore frame on the worn couch. The hands guided me to an armrest, but what good was an armrest when there was something better to be had? Blearily seeking out the owner of the calloused hands I was able to make out a large form to my left, and seeing his lap unoccupied I laid my head to rest there. And when I was not forcefully evicted from my chosen resting place, I allowed sleep to claim me once again.

* * *

"Donnie."

A bare head lifted slowly from the place it had been resting against the back of the couch, looking around for the source of the call in the darkness of the lair.

"Don, I need you to come and take a look at this."

The couched figure growled a little and the head turned towards it's eldest brother to the left. "Now?"

"Now."

"But Leo... she's sleeping. Can't this wait until morning?"

"I'd really rather you came and looked at this now."

Even in the dark Leo could see Donnie look for a long moment down at his lap before sighing and shifting carefully out from beneath the warm bundle he'd acquired mid-way through the movie that had ended hours ago. Instantly a second head could be seen over the back of the couch and Donatello's grimace could be seen easily from across the room. There was a quiet exchange of words and the purple-banded terrapin carefully guided the sleepy blonde to bed. Minutes later Leo was finally joined at the table by his unhappy brother, the tired glare that came with him strong enough to turn down the corners of the leader's mouth.

"This better be important, Leonardo."

"I wouldn't have woken you up if it wasn't. I've been watching the Foot's activity for the past couple of weeks and I've started to notice a pattern. I thought about having Aaliyah look this over too but with as tired as she is I hate to wake her up. And it's only midnight... whaddya say we go check this out?"

Donnie looked over Leo's map and his notes quickly, calculating the known variables and their likelihood of being simply coincidences. After a moment of deliberation he nodded his head. "I'll go get my gear."

Leo nodded in turn as well. "I'll grab Raph and Mikey."


	12. Barter

"They are DEAD. Fifty SHADES of DEAD. Do you hear me Arnold Casey Jones Jr?! DEAD!" I stormed about the lair, getting ready for the rescue mission. Casey Jones had come bursting into the lair just before dawn, shouting that the brothers had been hauled away by a team of men in suits and army-looking soldiers with serious firepower. Upon confirmation that the strike squad had been led by a tall, dark-haired man in a very long black coat and that the vans had been emblazoned with the insignia for the Earth Protection Force I roused Splinter and the furious preparations began. While my mood had started more as deeply worried and fearful for my friends it slowly turned fierce and fiery while I dressed and readied for the mission. Casey just rolled his eyes at me while I stormed about, growling about Leonardo's apparent inability to take my warnings seriously.

I swear I'd told him. I'd told him several times in fact. Probably a dozen times. Do not engage Agent Bishop. Do NOT let him take you. You'd be better off facing his entire military force to avoid being captured by Agent Bishop than letting him take you with the hope that your brothers will come and save you. Treat him like you'd treat a rabid 30-foot alligator. Do Not Engage Agent Bishop. And yet here we were, the asshole. He'd probably seen the guy and thought I was kidding. Oh was he going to GET IT when I got my hands on him. I'd drag his sorry butt home by his mask tails for this. What the hell was he thinking? Dammit Leo, why didn't you listen? "When we get to Bishop's lab they're in so much trouble. I swear I'm going to kick all of their butts and ground them to the Hashi for a WEEK for being so careless!"

"You done yet?"

I glared at him and held up my index finger sassily. "I have only one more thing to say. If we aren't dragging their sorry carcasses back here after we find them then they are going to WISH we were!"

Casey sighed and twirled his bat lazily. "**Now** are you done?"

I thought for a moment with pursed lips and tapped my chin. "Yep. I think I'm done now. Let's go save some turtles."

Casey just chuckled at her and stowed his bat in the bag across his back. "You know, I was pretty sure 'angry' wasn't a word in your vocabulary. I've seen Mikey and Raph pull all kinds of stuff on you and you just laugh at 'em. Now all of a sudden they go missin' for a few hours and you're ready ta rip up the city! You are one complicated chick, you know that?"

I smiled sweetly at the berserker and winked. "You have no idea, sugar cube. Alright Sensei, I think we're ready!"

"Very well." He replied, getting up from his seat and motioning for us to follow him out of the lair in the direction of the location I'd managed to get from one of the shell cells. God bless Donnie and his willingness to actually write out some instructions for pinging a phone from his computer. "Come along then. I fear we haven't much time before my sons meet a fate they cannot be rescued from."

Those words hung heavily on my heart as we made our way to the surface. Casey drove us to the pier next to the abandoned whatever pair of buildings that Bishop was using as his cover for his underground base of operations. Knowing what I'd been looking for, good old Google Maps had made the rowboat ride unnecessary. But we still needed to know exactly where to dive. Now, normally I'm not that malicious of a person, but since we were going to be getting wet anyways… All it took was one good shove and Casey went splashing into the bay. I shot Splinter an apologetic grin when he narrowed his eyes over at me and hummed his displeasure. But then Casey came sputtering out of the water all excited that he'd seen a light, and this time I had the wherewithal to believe him.

The easy part was swimming the 100 yards or so further to the northeast until we were right on top of the entrance. In fact, I beat both Casey and Master Splinter there. But unfortunately for us, my skills end at the surface. I can't swim underwater worth crap because I swim mostly with my arms. Now this was really great for my swim team because it made me a really great distance swimmer. But underwater I was as slow as a slug for it.

In anticipation for this (because I'd remembered that this was going to have to be a part of the rescue mission) we'd attached a line to Casey's belt. Once we were in position he hooked the other end of it to my belt and down we went. The pressure at the bottom of the river was absolutely crushing. I swam with all of my heart but really if I had to be honest I'd say that Casey essentially dragged me down. Thick as a brick and twice as stubborn, I had to hand it to him there in the crushing quiet of the deep water. That boy could swim.

We surfaced beside some kind of submarine and regained our breath as quietly as we could. Casey and I stayed in the water while Splinter took out the guards in the area. I would have liked to have seen him in action then, but knowing my absolute worthlessness in any kind of hand-to-hand combat it went without saying that I had to stay out of sight. And Casey... well... let's just say we were in stealth mode and therefore Casey stayed in the water with me.

Several long, slightly awkward moments, punctuated by the heavy thuds of several bodies crumpling to the floor, passed in the water before Splinter's head reappeared over the edge of the dock and we hauled ourselves out of the water. The jumpsuit that Mikey and I had made together in anticipation for some kind of future rescue mission was already fairly tight fitting, making it easy to slick the water off of it enough that I wouldn't leave a trail of water behind us while we searched for the boys. Casey, on the other hand, was a different story. His jeans dripped like they were attached to a hose, so the decision was made that he needed to wring them out before we could continue. Splinter and I turned our backs and busied ourselves with the unconscious guards.

Sensei pulled an ID card off of one while I relieved another of his weapon. I wasn't sure what exactly it was, but it definitely functioned like a fully automatic type of machine gun. Handguns were more my specialty but I could make due with this. At least now I could at least be _**somewhat**_ useful. It had been at least since my last lifetime since I'd had any target practice though so all I could do was pray that I wasn't too rusty. We dug around a bit hoping to find something that could tell us where in the heck they were keeping the boys but unfortunately had no luck.

By that time Casey had managed to wring himself out enough that we could continue, joining the conversation that Sensei and I were having. "Well really I only see two options. Either we need you to take a minute and try to find them on the astral plane or we need to be able to sniff them out somehow."

"It would not be wise for us to wait so long as would be required for me to contact my sons through the Astral Plane. In an environment such as this it could prove to be more harmful than helpful. And their scents have long gone cold in such a place as this." Sensei countered patiently, surveying the area. "However, we must keep moving or else risk detection."

"What if we grab somebody an' make 'em talk?" Casey offered, pulling out a soggy bat and dropping it into his hand a few times suggestively.

"This would also be inadvisable, as they could easily alert others of our presence." Splinter patiently explained. "I believe this will require the skill of misdirection and deception so often used by the ancient kunoichi as part of their training in espionage. Miss Aaliyah, if you would please take the clothing of this man, I believe we may have use of it."

I looked down at the man at my feet and swallowed thickly. Oh man. If Splinter was thinking what I was pretty sure he was thinking… we were all doomed. But I obediently did as I was asked and dressed up in his clothes. Everything from the underwire to the shades got hastily thrown on and then (again at Sensei's bidding) we started to walk. He had noticed some slight marks on the floor from something on wheels, likely our turtle brothers being wheeled towards the lab, and we took off after them. A few hallways down, though, we were already lost.

But Splinter knew what he was talking about and very soon we heard boots thumping heavily down the hallway. Casey and Splinter vanished suddenly, leaving me alone to sweat until the boots arrived. A lone soldier patrolling the hallway came into view and I audibly sighed in relief. I coughed once and graveled my voice as much as possible, silently blessing whatever gods had given me an alto singing voice.

"I'm such an idiot." I groaned lowly, shaking my head. "I still don't remember where a damn thing is down here. Why the hell does literally every hallway have to look exactly the same?"

"Where you heading soldier?" The man asked, approaching curiously.

"Bishop's got those freaks in his lab, playing doctor, and he's not answering a single thing over the radio. The President's office is trying to reschedule his meeting and they sent me down to tell him to pick up the goddamn phone. Where the hell is the lab? I've gotta go interrupt whatever psycho dissection he's in the middle of." I asked, sounding incredulous and peeved at having to navigate this maze of hallways. Luckily, the other guy seemed to buy it.

"He's crazy! Did you see the size of those things!?" He asked, sounding equal parts disgusted and awed.

"Yeah, but seriously, they were nothing compared to the gator. You remember that thing?" I asked, banking on the assumption that Leatherhead would have been through here at some point by now.

"How could I forget? They're still trying to rebuild the south staircase. I don't envy you, buddy, better you than me. Last guy that had to go in there needed therapy for a month before he was right again. Two halls down take a right, four more take a left, third door to the left."

I whistled and sighed, slumping a little in relief. "Thanks, you saved my ass. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it. Good luck." He raised a lazy half-wave at me as he strolled by to continue his rounds and I headed in the direction he'd indicated. Only moments later was I joined by the rushed footfalls of Casey and Splinter, a sound I was far too grateful to hear. I was sweating bullets and feeling less and less confidant with each passing step. That was until I remembered something, noticing a patch of hallway ahead that looked different than the rest of it.

"Stop!" I suddenly commanded, throwing my arms out and slamming on the breaks. Casey bumped roughly into me. Splinter's nose poked out underneath my arm and sniffed the air with quivering whiskers.

"Ozone." He announced simply, reaching into a pocket on Casey's bag and pulling out a spray can of something. Paint, probably, knowing the character. The particles illuminated the web of lasers, drawing out a deep groan of frustration from both myself and Casey Jones. Seriously? The laser trap? I wasn't even close to being able to do what April had done to get through it. But, then again, neither was Casey. And if he could bumble his way through without setting off the alarms, then maybe I could too.

Splinter went first, obviously, lithely leaping and twirling through the air like he was a rat half his age. Freaking showoff. Then it was my turn. I peeled off the hat and jacket and slid them across the floor to the other side, along with the weapon I'd acquired, paranoid that any extra stuff I wasn't quite used to would somehow get caught in one of the lasers and set off the alarm. And then the dance began.

Sensei guided me through. His calls of 'left' and 'duck' and 'careful' were all followed as exactly as I could. But the sound of each laser beam buzzing in my ear as I navigated under, over, around, and through the streaks of high-energy light was terrifying. My blood pounding in my ears was almost loud enough to block out the sound of Sensei's soothing voice as he calmly talked me through the seven foot space. It felt like it was easily three times that by the time I managed to make it to the other side though.

"Good hell, that was easily ten times harder than any Tai Chi I've ever done with Leo and Donnie. I will never complain about doing that with them ever again, I swear on my life." I panted, leaning on the wall for support. "Now Jones, remember, you got this. But in my world it's the very end after you've made it through that your bag trips the alarms. So just keep walking like another five feet before you stand up and straighten out or else we're all dead."

"Yeah, thanks for the pep talk. No pressure or anything." He grumbled, beginning to repeat the shaky steps that I had done. I seriously could not watch, it was too nerve wracking. I buried my face in my hands and let Splinter talk him through, because the only other option was to die from the heart attack I was sure he was going to give me. Sensei was wise enough to keep a close eye on Casey's bag as he finally made it out of the laser hall, catching a spray paint can that slipped from an open pocket just before it tripped a laser. The old master gave me a sly wink and stowed the can in the hockey bag, zipping the pocket smartly.

"Your experience has once again proved invaluable, my child." He said smoothly as he patted my arm while I zipped my own jacket back up. I smiled back at him and giggled happily. I actually made it! One of my huge worries had been hurdled and I was feeling positively radiant.

"Don't thank me just yet Sensei. First we gotta go through there." I replied, pointing to the air duct beneath our feet. "In the episode when Casey trips the alarm the team slips through this air shaft and ends up right beneath Bishop's lab. If we hurry, we might still be able to get there before Bishop can take any DNA samples. Splinter, I have to warn you again. Bishop is centuries old and has the fighting experience to show it. Treat him like you would treat the Shredder. We have the element of surprise on our side so if we're lucky, and fast, we can at least knock him out long enough to get the boys unstrapped. If you take Bishop, Casey and I will take care of the rest."

Splinter nodded and used his strong nails to pull the vent covering up for the three of us to slip inside. Splinter's nose proved invaluable in deciding which direction we needed to head, as I hadn't the slightest idea. We crawled a little ways before indeed coming to the floor grate beneath Bishop's lab. The brothers were shouting at Bishop, threatening him every manner of bodily injury if he didn't release them.

"Don't you even THINK about touchin' Mikey with that thing or I'll shove it so far down ya neck they'll have ta cut off ya foot ta get it out!"

"Come on brah, I'm too young to die!"

"You're making a BIG mistake Bishop!"

"Silence!" The deep, breathy growl sent a shiver up my spine, and my blood boiled dangerously at the sight of him, knowing what he was capable of and what he was planning on doing to MY friends and family. How dare he! "I've had enough talk. It's time for your dissection."

I silently snarled at the cloaked figure above us, baring my teeth at him with the tantalizing temptation of taking a chunk out of him that he'd never be able to forget. But Splinter was leading the way and I knew that acting too soon wouldn't get any of us anywhere, as much as I seriously wanted to jump up and claw his face off. We desperately needed this element of surprise we were so fortunate to have. Sensei waited until Bishop's back was turned and then nodded curtly, our signal as a trio to roughly shove the grate upwards so that Splinter could attack the agent. Soundly kicking him and punching him with deadly accuracy, it was only moments until Agent Bishop lay sprawled across the ground. The two armed guards followed quickly after, thanks to the combined efforts of Casey and Sensei.

"Dad!" The four brothers shouted at once, overjoyed to see their father and Sensei. But already Casey and I were on them, scrabbling at their bindings to free them as quickly as possible. They were shouting various exclamations of surprise and demanding to know how on earth we'd found them but all I could do was repeat the same thing over and over to them.

"There's no time! There's no time! We've gotta get you out of here! Come on, hurry it up, there's no time!"

I heard Casey snort as he freed Raphael, and I turned just enough to see him jerk his thumb in my direction. "You shoulda seen her when we was leavin' ta go. She was yellin' and makin' all kindsa death threats on you guys! It was hilarious."

Blood still boiling over Bishop, my gaze snapped to the still-strapped Leonardo I was now working to release. "AND THAT REMINDS ME!"

"Oh crud, here we go."

"YOU. ARE. DEAD." I shouted at the leader, unbuckling him from his dissection table. "What did I tell you Leonardo? _**What did I tell you about Bishop?**_ Did you listen to a **single** word I said? I told you very clearly DO NOT LET BISHOP TAKE YOUR ASS, LEO. And here we are! Unbelievable! Absolutely," The final strap holding his feet in place fell away and I glared daggers up at him, hands snapping to my hips, "Unbelievable. You all are in SO MUCH TROUBLE for being so careless! AND YOU!"

Rounding suddenly on Donatello, I advanced with eyes blazing, causing him to cower and quail. A small part of me felt a little bit bad about the very real terror in his eyes but I was too furious to care. Unlike with Leonardo, however, I did not shout. My voice was painfully, dangerously quiet and shook like the balled fists at my sides. "Not. One. Distress Signal. Seriously? Not one. Do you know exactly how dead you all would be if I didn't already know where you guys were? If Casey hadn't made it back to the lair as fast as he did? Dead. Your guts would be splattered on the floor and your brain would be in a jar, Donatello. You are dead when we get home. You hear me mister? You. Are. Toast."

"A-Aaliyah, I… we couldn't…" Donnie started to stammer but I cut him off with a jerk of my hand. I didn't have the time right now to listen to the gripping tale of why in the shell it had been absolute radio silence since whenever it was that they had all snuck out the night before.

There were 10,000 things my anger wanted to hiss at all of them still but my internal clock was ticking loudly in my head. Off to the side I heard Raphael whisper to Casey, "I don't know what kind of crazy pills you take, but we gotta work on your definition of 'hilarious.'" I shot the two of them a warning glare and took a long, deep breath in. Furious as I still was, now was not the time to forget where we were. We were still in Agent Bishop's lab, still minus one large Alligator, and definitely Not out of the woods yet.

"Donatello, delete all of the information off of Bishop's computer regarding yourself, your brothers, and Leatherhead. Mikey, help me with our alligator friend. The rest of you, and Sensei if you don't mind terribly, get that man strapped down **tightly** to one of the tables before he comes to. We have about 30 seconds before he'll wake up if I remember correctly, and if he can move then we're all dead. Do you understand?" They all nodded and rushed into action, strapping Bishop down with perhaps slightly excessive force while Mikey and I rushed to the wall of oversized medical drawers.

"Ok… let me think. Second row from the bottom… ummm… third column from the left? Or was it the second? I really don't want to pull open one of these and find something I'd really rather not see." I groaned, trying to remember. Mikey placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a supportive grin.

"It's totally cool, I've got this. I'll open the drawers. Maybe we'll find a nice surprise inside!" He joked, turning back to the wall. "One of these two?"

I nodded. "If it's like the 2003 cartoon then yes, one of those two drawers. But this is a whole different universe so-" Mikey suddenly yanked both oversized drawers open at the same time and I clapped my hands over my face. _Please don't be aliens, please don't be aliens, please don't be-_

"Empty chica! What now?" Mikey called over to me, and I peeked through my fingers to confirm his findings. True enough, they were completely bare. Growling again, I shook my head dejectedly.

"Sorry Mike. I'm pretty sure if he was in here, he'd be on the second row because that's the easiest one for Bishop to reach without having to bend over or get a ladder. All I can say is check the other drawers on the second shelf. If he's not there then they might have moved him. And I **really** hope they didn't do **that** because if they did then I'm a fish out of water here." I explained, noting that Bishop was starting to come around. I patted Mikey on the shoulder and winked at him. "You find Leatherhead. I've got a nutcase to talk to. Cross your fingers that this next magic trick of mine doesn't go up in smoke!"

Mikey giggled at my pun and gave me a thumbs up before cautiously beginning to open the other drawers I'd told him to check. Cracking my knuckles dangerously I moved towards Agent Bishop, cocking my weapon and pointing it directly at his chest. This man was going to have a hole the size of a cannonball where his heart should have been if he so much as flinched too hard after what he'd been about to do to my family here in this world. But not just yet if I had any control over the situation.

"Alright Agent Bishop. You had your fun for today. But right now I need these boys a helluva lot more than you do. So I'm taking them back, thank you." I announced to the man, his steely gaze doing its best to pin me down.

"You have no idea, do you?" He responded coldly, voice as deep and sinister as I'd remembered it. Maybe even more so. "All of the work that I've done and just how far these mutant turtle creatures could advance my work? You don't even know who you're dealing with."

And then I did something very strange. I laughed at him. A genuine, gut-busting laugh that brought a tear to my eye. "No, no, Bishop. I'm afraid it is you who has no idea." I giggled, leveling my weapon at him again. "No idea at all. You see, I know everything. Call me a seer if you wish or an oracle or a goddess or maybe just call me a nuisance. I don't care. But I tell you this right now, Bishop. I know everything. I know about the Greys and what they did to you and I know exactly how many centuries ago it happened."

"What!? How!?" He demanded, leaning forward to get at me but the boys had done a very good job of strapping him down with forceful prejudice. "Where did you get your information from? Who's the mole in my organization?"

"Really? A mole? You really think one of the hired guns you've got running around would know that?" I replied coolly, deciding to put him in his place as best as I could for the time being so that when everything went down he'd at least know well enough to not try to focus his energy on the turtles. "I know about your super soldier plans and I know about the clones. I know about the funding and the President and I know about your plans to secure his support of your program through deception and fear. I know about the aliens you've been collecting and experimenting on. I know everything. I know your future just as clearly as I know your past and I know exactly how and when you are going to die. And because I know everything I know perfectly well that while I may have every right to incinerate you for what you were about to do to my family, I also know that I have a few more parts I need for you to play."

The look he was giving me was absolutely murderous at this point, though I'd very clearly seen a flash of fear and confusion pass over him at least once. "I don't play parts for anyone." He growled lowly, every word coming out as a promise for retribution. "Not even you, whatever you are."

Now thoroughly amused, I cracked a wry smile at him. "Whatever I am is right. Because once again, all of your amassed resources and your 'friends' and allies still haven't bought you the ability to see all of the pieces in play on the chess board. Maybe one day you'll understand, little Bishop. But for now, leave the heavy lifting to the Kings and Queens in play."

"Oh, and I suppose these mutant turtles are your 'Queens?' How quaint." He retorted, trying to bait me. Raphael snarled at Bishop and adjusted the grip on his Sai but a sharp look from my direction had him pausing with a huff. Bishop still didn't look convinced, which was a problem if I was going to win some kind of mutual peace treaty between the two of us. So I sauntered over and got quite a bit closer than I was really comfortable with, knowing what he was capable of, all for the sake of dramatics. After all, it was the language that resonated best with him.

"Wouldn't you like to know? But, sadly, you don't get to. That information is on a need-to-know basis for those who will be directly involved in what is coming for this planet, this universe. And tragically… you don't need to know. But there is something you do need to know in order for you to play your part in the upcoming events that will be arriving to earth sooner than you think."

"If it involves this planet and its safety then you know damn well that I need to know!" He growled, flexing against his restraints. Ok, now he was at least listening. That was a start. Unluckily for me his hostility was starting to seep into the cracks in my confidence and I could feel it wavering a little under that angry glare. I swallowed thickly against it, fighting off the rising desire to just turn tail and run while we still had the chance.

"War is coming, Bishop, Intergalactic War. And an enemy to not only this earth but everything in our universe is rising. Unfortunately I need you and your current personal motives to help us fight it as our ally, despite everything you were planning on doing to make a very personal and powerful enemy out of this family. We will be working at the heart of this enemy while you take care of things at Ground Zero. I'd love to be more specific than that, but I can't. So you get to live, and you get to fight, but I personally promise you that I have no problems with killing you in ways that only I know will **keep** you dead if you dare touch my family again."

"So you think that by sparing my life now I'll owe you my loyalty and therefore you'll have my cooperation? With no information to work with? For being all-knowing you sure don't seem to have a very solid grasp of how things work here in the real world." Bishop sneered, earning another laugh from me.

"Really Bishop, I'm insulted that you'd think me so stupid as that. No no, I'm letting you live because I need you. I'm letting you live today so that you can protect the earth in the very near future, so you can do what you're good at. You get to keep your life and your body today with our only agreement being that we are both working towards the safety and the protection of our little blue rock here in the Milky Way. It has been written by laws decreed before the creation of this universe itself that these fine gentlemen before you are the only ones who can defeat the evil, and THAT Agent Bishop is why I'll have your cooperation and your begrudging willingness to avoid taking them into your custody." I explained with a dramatic flair that bolstered as Bishop's anger seemed to cool into interest. "Because I know you. Intimately. And as much as you want to use them for your super soldier program, that is still a few years away from being ready. And War will not wait that long, despite the lingering hope you have that it will. So you can either try to further your own agenda and doom our Universe or you can be our ally and save it."

He stared me down, weighing my little speech, before finally grumbling, "It seems as though I have little choice in the matter, doesn't it. Very well. I will postpone my attempts to use your… family… as a means to further my work. For now. But if I find out that you are lying to me I will hunt all of you down with extreme prejudice." He promised, his voice gravelling so lowly I wondered if he might damage it.

"I would expect no less, and promise you the same sir. Now if you'll excuse us, we really must be off." I cheerfully replied, lowering my gun. Admittedly I probably couldn't' have held it up to his chest much longer even if the conversation hadn't gone the way it had. My arms were **killing** me!

"Haven't you forgotten something?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm, turning his gaze towards Leonardo. "Aren't you going to release me now that we're allies? Or do you keep all of your friends tied up like this?"

Leonardo moved to cut the straps but I immediately shouted "Wait!" All eyes fixed on me as I stepped back up to Agent Bishop and removed his glasses with a firm swipe. I still didn't trust him farther than I could throw him, but I had to see. Leaning forward to search his eyes, I asked him one question in a low murmur to emphasize the seriousness of it. "You swear that we can count you as our ally in this fight to save the Universe?"

Bishop responded with a knowing smirk, one that seemed to beg me to challenge him. "My only interest is in the protection of our planet against intergalactic entities that would do us harm."

Truth be told, he had a damn good poker face. Too good, in fact, and that's when I remembered the samples. He was oozing confidence that stated he felt like he still had the upper hand, his only tell from what I could remember of the cartoon series. Returning the knowing look I settled back to a comfortable stance. "Donatello. How's it coming over there?"

"Just finished. All of the raw data that Agent Bishop was able to collect today as well as everything that I could find on Leatherhead just got fried." He replied from behind Bishop, his smirk scrunching into a furious scowl.

"You dare tamper with my research!?"

"Thanks Donnie. Now over there by the control panel, possibly on the shelves behind it, there should be a small box with some vials inside of it. Please pack those up if you would, as those are DNA samples Agent Bishop was able to collect from you guys. Unfortunately he already has more samples from Leatherhead than we have time to collect, but at least those from you four should be properly taken care of." I called over Agent Bishop, trying to ignore his furious outburst.

"Found it!"

"Excellent, Donatello. Pack those up and see if you can't find-"

BAM "GUUYYYYYYS! Guess who I found!"

"-Mikey. Hey Mike, it's great that you're here. Now that we've got Leatherhead we can ship out." I called over my shoulder, then turning my attention back to the livid Agent still strapped tightly down.

"You'll pay for tampering with my files!" He growled, and in the flash of fear and anger I had flare up in my chest I hefted the laser gun and shot off the corner of the table. The whole lab went eerily silent after that as Bishop and I stared each other down.

"That was a warning shot. You will not get another." I cautioned him fiercely, the heat from the gun warming my fingers that had chilled from distress. "We are allies in the impending fight for our planet, galaxy, and universe. But never forget that I am a goddess, Bishop, and I made you who you are. Just because my hand wrote the ending to your story does not mean I'm unwilling to change it. It is not your time to have what you need to complete your super soldier program, and therefore we are taking that which was never rightfully yours to have in the first place. Focus on preparing for war, and we _**all**_ just might make it out of this year alive. Now because I know you and I know exactly what you're capable of, we're leaving you strapped to this table. But we'll be kind enough to wheel you out into the hallways where someone will find you. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a sunrise to beat."

And as we retreated back down the hallway we'd come from, Bishop watching our backs as we ran, I heard him call out. "I never did catch your name, 'goddess.'" His tone dripped sarcasm and some bit of contempt at using the word, and just for that I stopped in my tracks and threw him a flirtatious smile over my shoulder. Just to really piss him off.

"And you never will."


	13. Serendipity

_**HOLY TOLITO LONG CHAPTER ALERT**_

_**FLUFF ALERT! **_

_**PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION**_

_**Hehehe, sorry you guys, you get to deal with the fact that I just could NOT put this chapter down! Also, this chapter is from Donnie's perspective. I got about three pages into making this an Aaliyah-perspective chapter and decided that the flow just wasn't quite right. That, and, knowing both sides of the story for what's coming will definitely help you guys understand the impending pandemonium. Bless all of your hearts for reading my silly little fic and thank all 27 of you that have written me Reviews! I LOVE seeing what you guys think about the story! Your cries of anguish and cheers for action definitely warm my heart. Thank you all so much, and thank all 2,990 of you who have popped up on my Traffic Graph for this story! Love you all!**_

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I've been in stressful situations before. There have been exactly 9 times I've had to diffuse live bombs, once with only a handful of seconds to spare. I've driven our Battle Shell through 86 car chase scenarios and only rolled it 7 times. Given the nature of what we do almost every invention of mine has been field-tested in the heat of battle or otherwise in on-the-job situations, sometimes with my life on the line. I've been on the wrong end of Raphael's rage more times than I have the interest or patience to keep track of and Sensei's training has sometimes been at the very real peril of our lives (like the time when we were kids and he had us demonstrate our balance over the North Drainage Basin). But I'd happily take the threat of the roaring whirlpool beneath my feet over the fuming fury of Aaliyah right now.

Why? Well that's actually a very good question. First, in order to survive the test of the Basin all I had to do was maintain my balance over a specified distance. We'd practiced this in the dojo a hundred times before and used this skill in our childhood games dozens more times than that. It was familiar, and the requirements were explicitly stated. Second, the endpoint was clearly visible. The span to cross had a definite beginning and a definite end, and a certain number of steps were required in order to cross it. Third, if I were to fail I also had a known end. At the time that known end would have been drowning, but looking back it really was the threat of falling into the dangerous water only to have Master Splinter dive in after us and pull us to safety.

Now take the case of the tight-lipped, silent stalk that was Aaliyah. While the beginning of her uncharacteristically foul mood was a known variable, essentially all else was unknown. I'd never seen her so furious before. Granted, even Mikey could be given to losing his temper on occasion. But having known our newest friend and addition to our small family for such a short time made this particular instance troubling in a way that no outburst of Michelangelo's could rival. In a way it was similar to Leo's fury, the silent fuming that practically radiated negative energy. But Leo was different in that by now he would have started dropping subtle hints as to the cause of his ire. Raphael's disobedience, Mikey's showmanship or his distractibility, my tendency to be slower and more thorough than he had the patience for. He would have started nagging long before now.

But Aaliyah was like a vault. Not that THAT was particularly new information. I'd seen her silently observe the world around her, unmoving and silent for hours, on exactly 27 different occasions. And Leo had made the observation several times that she was very skilled at diverting around questions she didn't want to answer, turning them subtly or answering them indirectly so that there was an implicit and tactful answer but not a direct one. Rarely did she ever speak in yesses or nos. This current kind of behavior took that cautious and careful nature to a whole other level, however. She hadn't said one word since we'd surfaced and Casey had taken Leatherhead, Mikey, Raphael, and Splinter back to the lair in the van. That left myself and Leonardo (oddly enough, at Sensei's insistence) to walk home.

It wasn't as though we hadn't tried. As the van drove away Leo had rubbed the back of his neck and asked, "Well, uh, we probably should get moving." And Aaliyah had nodded neutrally and told him "Lead the way." But any further talk had been silenced by the stony-faced and very plainly suppressed anger that bubbled beneath her skin. It radiated off of her and with every step felt more and more like I was walking beside a ticking time bomb. At some point she was going to explode at the two of us, and a shared grimace with Leo told me he felt the same. And I had no idea how to diffuse this explosive situation.

We were halfway home and already I was starting to fidget under the pressure. What was the answer? Was there something I could say to fix this? Or would that just set off the explosion? What if I made it worse? Painful as walking in dead silence was, it was at least better than the alternative. What if she stayed upset with us because we couldn't fix this? Would she leave? Was she going to abandon us because we'd been captured after her repeated warnings? What if she decided that because we couldn't heed her warnings then we were undeserving of any more information?

My face scrunched in frustration and my hands clenched at my side. Machines were so much simpler. If a machine was behaving poorly it could be troubleshot. There were solutions; programming codes I could update, wiring I could improve, connections that could be cleaned, parts that could be replaced or refurbished. But people weren't machines and a diagnostic check wasn't an option in this case. I hate it when I'm the cause of trouble. It's my job to FIX things, not break them. And when I'm the one to break them, I'm the one to fix them again. But this... where could I even start?

"Aaliyah, I'm sorry that we were captured, but you have to understand. There wasn't a way out. We were surrounded." Leo finally stated plainly, attacking the issue head on. I was actually a little bit startled, jerked from my thoughts at his sudden break in the uncomfortable silence. Especially at his choice of timing. We were approaching and coming to a stop over a manhole cover that would take us fairly directly home, but Leo was using it as a blocking strategy like he did with Raphael. Blocking the exit forced Raphael to face Leo head on, and work out whatever the problem was whether or not that included the clashing of steel. And I wanted to smack Leo for this decision.

To begin, Aaliyah and Raphael were two completely different creatures. One thrived on confrontation and one was pointedly avoidant of it. I'd seen Aaliyah fake-sleep for over an hour in order to avoid a confrontation with a pissy Raphael who'd sat down on her dress in a huff and snatched up the remote to watch wrestling. Second, it sent the message that it was Aaliyah who was at fault for being upset when really, she'd made a few good points back in Agent Bishop's lab. Leo didn't mean to do that, and I'm sure if I'd pointed it out he would have been surprised and tried to rephrase his approach, but I'd been on the receiving end of Leonardo enough times to recognize it. He wasn't going to let any of us go any further until this issue was resolved. And by the way Aaliyah's posture had shifted into one of silent submission, it seemed like he was going to get it.

"I know. I'm sorry for yelling at you, Leo and Donnie. It wasn't right of me to raise my voice at you guys and I'm sorry. I know you wouldn't have been captured if there was a way out." She replied evenly, eyes downcast and body shifted so her shoulder was pointed to Leo instead of her front. "I was out of line."

It was more of an apology than he usually got from Raphael so he accepted it and moved on, mistaking her passive-aggressive stance and reply for one of guilt. "It's alright. So you're not mad anymore?"

She lifted her head up to meet his concerned gaze and gave the two of us a very convincing smile. "Mostly just still a bit jittery from the mission. That and Leatherhead. He's a lot bigger in this world than the other ones and … don't tell him I said this because I don't want to make him feel bad but... he's really terrifying. He's just a whole heck of a lot to take in at once, you know? I want to be accepting and everything but I think my self preservation instincts just need to get used to being nearby a 30-foot-long bipedal alligator."

This satisfied Leonardo, who nodded in understanding, and I reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright Aaliyah, we understand. Leatherhead does look a bit intimidating but we've had dealings with him before. Three years ago we found him nearby our home and he helped us out of a few tight spots. But then a couple of months later, he vanished! We couldn't find him anywhere. I'm sure once you get to know him he'll seem less intimidating, but until then you can stay close to one of us."

She nodded at my offer and huffed a little chuckle. "Thanks guys. That's really sweet of you."

"You're welcome." Leonardo responded, finally lifting the manhole cover. "I'm glad we were able to get everything straightened out."

Except… I wasn't so sure that it was. The rest of the walk back to the lair was still silent, broken only by what little idle chatter Leonardo and I shared. True, Aaliyah wasn't stalking and fuming any more. But walking next to her still felt like the distant rumble of thunder that came with dark storm clouds building out on the ocean, and I had no way of knowing if the forecast was for a drizzle or for a hurricane.

The rest of the evening didn't help my forecasting either. Once we arrived home we were ushered to the dinner table for the meal Michelangelo had prepared. Leatherhead and Casey dominated the dinnertime conversation, through which Aaliyah remained quiet. Again it was not especially unusually so, but she did take an extra second to get laughing compared to the rest of the family. And usually her usual reaction time was comparable to the reaction times of the rest of the family. She also seemed especially eager to trade Raphael chores, allowing her to escape to the kitchen to wash dishes while the rest of us helped our new guest get settled for the night. And then that chore took a little longer than usual, a fact that Mikey noticed long before I did.

"Hey Dee." He leaned over and casually (but quietly) started, and I had to lean over to even catch what he was saying. "Might wanna go check on 'liyah."

I looked around in confusion, having assumed that once she'd completed the dishes she would have joined us. But suddenly it was apparent that this wasn't the case. Jerking my head back to look at Michelangelo, he tilted his head back towards the kitchen in indication that he was under the impression she was still completing Raphael's chore. I nodded at my brother and silently pulled back from the warm conversation to see what was keeping her so long.

It wasn't until I'd nearly reached the kitchen that I noticed the soft lilting of a feminine voice, underscored by the plucking of guitar strings. Curiously I deviated from my course and followed my ears to where they led me, namely the shared bedroom. Covertly peeking in, I was greeted by the sight of Aaliyah settled into Raphael's nest, picking away at his guitar. It took a few moments of listening before I could recognize the tune, not for lack of musical experience but more for straining to hear over the boisterous noise of my brothers. Maybe this was why Sensei usually retired to bed so early. It was impossible to hear much of anything other than their voices even from so far away!

"...take the photographs and still frames in your mind  
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time  
Tattoos and memories and dead skin on trial  
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable but in the end is right.  
I hope you had the time of your life.

... You can come in, you know."

I jumped at being addressed, but sheepishly entered the space anyways. Those big blue eyes watched me enter from overtop the worn but well cared for instrument as I did so, and I couldn't help but more pointedly notice that she was comfortably snuggled amongst fluffy pillows and blankets like a goddess... In Raphael's nest. Which... of course... was logical. He usually kept his guitar there when he wasn't playing it. So, of course, logic would follow that if she was going to sit somewhere in the room to play the instrument it would most likely be in the nest where the instrument was resting. So I wasn't quite sure why this fact seemed to stand out so pointedly in my mind. But there it was, just the same.

"You sounded beautiful." I commented, a bit unsure of what to say but feeling like there was definitely something to be said. She thanked me cordially, but the knowing gaze that accompanied it felt embarrassingly like she was waiting for the rest of what I had to say. Like I was on stage with lines to recite and she had the script in her hand. I was grateful for the familiar weight of my gear surrounding me protectively, as if it could hide me from those eyes that stripped through me every time they looked for too long. So I cleared my throat and tried my best to set aside the idle chatter I might have used to build up to whatever it was I was going to say.

"I – uh – noticed that you disappeared. And I didn't know where you went. I wanted to make sure that you were ok." I finished lamely, and Aaliyah gave a wizened nod like she had predicted my concerns accurately.

"I'm ok. Just still getting used to Leatherhead and needed a break. But thank you."

It was practiced and concise, and in a way I felt like I was being dismissed. "Oh, ok. Well, I'll just-" I motioned back towards the family and she nodded in understanding, already turning back to the guitar.

I shuffled back and turned my back but something nagged insistently in some corner of my brain that I shouldn't leave just yet. She'd only had dinner with him so far, really, and already needed a break? … Not as likely as I would have liked. There was something else there but she just wasn't saying it. So I finished my rotation and made my way back into the room, standing next to Raphael's bed without a single idea of what I was doing. Only that I shouldn't leave.

"I'm sorry."

I blinked down at her, surprised that I'd even opened my mouth, but I had and there it was. She looked just as surprised as I felt, cocking her head adorably to the side like a puppy. "I don't understand."

Ok, that was a logical way to follow. I'd given little explanation, blurting out and apology without any context. So I had to try again. "I'm sorry for... well, for a few things. I'm sorry that I didn't contact you with an emergency signal, I should have done that the minute we were surrounded and Leo made the call to cooperate. I'm sorry that Leonardo cornered you earlier, that wasn't fair of him, and I'm sorry that I didn't intervene. I should have called him out on treating you like one of us, because that wasn't right and I didn't say anything about it. And I'm sorry that Leatherhead makes you feel uncomfortable. I never wanted you to feel unsafe, especially here. At home."

Her face fell into a pensive expression, thinking (I could only assume) about my apology. The moments dragged on and I started to worry that maybe I'd said something wrong, maybe I'd done something I shouldn't have, and fidgeted a little bit in place. But then something surprising happened. She set the guitar to the side and climbed out of Raphael's nest to hug me. It was a gesture I of course returned but one I didn't understand until she explained.

"I was scared. Bishop is so very deadly and more than anything I wanted to keep you all safe from him. He's easily an order of magnitude more deadly than the Shredder in hand-to-hand combat and just as obsessed, though his goal is broad enough that in almost every incarnation he does become some kind of ally. He's centuries old and physically far more advanced than any human or Utrom Shredder could be and twice as difficult to kill and he would have happily taken you apart in front of each other if I hadn't gotten there in time. That was a very real possibility that I just wasn't ready to face. Especially when I didn't really know where you were. I had to put your lives in the hands of Google Maps and the hope that I could recognize the abandoned buildings that stand over Bishop's underground bunker. I pulled a Raphael and turned angry at you guys because of how terrified I was, and that wasn't fair of me. I just care a lot about you guys and in the moment it was easier for me to yell than to admit how scary the whole situation was. I love you..."

My heart jumped into my mouth and I nearly choked on it, shocked. I think I may have physically jumped a little too, because she quickly added (or ammended) her statement. "All of you. I'd be crushed if anything terrible happened to any of you, even Casey. I may not always get along with him, but he's a part of this family too and I'd do anything to keep you all safe. I'm sorry I yelled, but it was either that or start bawling and we didn't really have the time for that in the moment. Will you forgive me for my Raphael impersonation?"

She lifted her chin and rested it on my plastron, still holding onto me tightly, looking up with shining blue eyes that were full of expectation and emotion. I probably should have had something articulate or sarcastically teasing to reply back, our usual witty banter would have called for such in a moment like this, but I was already lost in the echo of her slip up and the pounding in my chest that made me wonder if my ribs might crack under the pressure of it. All I could do was nod stupidly and squeeze her closer, sorely tempted to back into my nest and give my weakening knees a reprieve. With her. Cuddle her securely for the next week and beg her to say it again so I could be sure I hadn't misheard. Either that or turn shell and run to New Jersey and back. Both sounded like perfectly acceptable options at the moment.

In my stupor I vaguely registered Aaliyah asking if we should rejoin the brothers, and I dumbly followed on her heels back out into the din of the family. I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to really pay much attention to what was going on though, too many emotions bubbling around in my chest. Too much to wrap my head around and rationalize. Because there had to be a rational, logical explanation for what had just happened. Right?

I watched Aaliyah cautiously get introduced to Leatherhead by an enthusiastic Michelangelo, and even embrace him with a timid smile and several reassurances that she was so very happy to have him here where he was safe. All of us safe. She HAD added that she did love –god the way my stomach flip flopped around my gut like a fish newly hauled out of the bay to even **think** the word- all of us. That meant Sensei and Raphael and Michelangelo and Leonardo and Casey and... and me. Familial. Platonic. Not romantic. Like a brother.

But... maybe I could work with that.

Wait...

Work with What? Work towards what end? What was I thinking?

I had to shake myself from whatever direction my thoughts were headed and derail that train of thought right where it was at. There were NO ulterior motives. I hadn't even realized that I'd managed to move from the category of acquaintance to friend to family yet. I'd wanted to, oh how I'd wanted to, but how do you actually manage a transition like that? It was fairly easy to see with someone like Michelangelo, how in the first few days of being here she'd gone from spectator to participant in his games and physically affectionate nature. The first time I saw her flop easily over onto Mikey had been a very clear indication to me that he had managed to become her real friend and (maybe even back then) family. With Leo it had taken a little longer, but I'd noted his transition one day nearly a week later when she'd catapulted a piece of dry cereal via spoon across the table and Leo's reflexes had caught it perfectly in his mouth despite his surprise at the attack. They'd laughed together and shared a knuckle bump, trying the feat several more times with equal success.

Raphael had taken longer, or perhaps because their interactions involved much less verbal or physical exchanges it had simply taken me longer to notice it, but the moment I had finally noticed it was much more prominent than the other times I'd seen them together. Raphael had gone off the handle over something, completely lost his temper, and stormed out. Several hours later when he finally returned, still growling and snarling at anything that moved, and upon spotting Aaliyah on the couch had stormed over and dropped heavily down next to her. Several long moments of silence passed between them until she turned and faced him, surveying him silently. He shot back a nasty glare but Aaliyah didn't back down, only tilted her head in the quietest form of reproach and gave him one of her famous looks of understanding. He ground his teeth at that but eventually backed down, turning his head and huffing a deep sigh. He asked if he'd been an idiot, and she asked if he wanted to talk about it. He shook his head, and she put her hand on his with a nod. "You know he does it because he loves you and he cares about you. He just worries, and sometimes he's an ass about it because it scares him to death. That doesn't excuse him being an ass, and he probably could stand to be reminded of that, but you know he doesn't do it just to drive you insane." Raphael sighed again and nodded, rubbing the top of his head in frustration. But then she got one of his half-smiles and a huffed chuckle and he heaved himself up off of the couch in better spirits with the intention of finding Leo and getting back to their sparring match.

And up until a few minutes ago I hadn't even realized that I'd had a moment like that with Aaliyah where I'd magically managed through my bumbling to stumble out of the acquaintance category. Perhaps it was just a matter of time? Spending some minimum amount of time in the pleasant company of another made you, in a way, automatically friends? Maybe I'd had one of those moments and just missed it? But in either case I had only to be so very grateful for the fortunately good graces I'd discovered myself in. And that was the end of it. She loved all of us –and there went that flutter in my heart again – and cared for all of us and now I knew where the real source of her wrath had come from. Of course now that I could see the whole picture everything all made sense to me. Mostly. Sense enough that I could be satisfied, anyways.

And as I crawled into my nest later that morning after getting Leatherhead set up across two couches I nodded at my conclusions for the day. All of us. She said, and she meant, all of us. That was good. Amazing, in fact. I'd been so sure that after years of being hunted and chased through the sewers of New York City we'd never be able to find another human willing to even give us a chance at friendship.

My world started to fade into blissful oblivion at the happy thought that I was definitely, now, confirmed to be Aaliyah's friend. We were friends. Brilliant, kind, funny Aaliyah was OUR friend. And she was only angry because she cared.

What a happy series of circumstances that had played out today.

* * *

"Donnie?"

I jerked from sleep at the whimper to my side. Being a ninja gives an individual heightened senses, and the wrong sound at night was enough to rouse even Raphael who snored (and was currently snoring) like a passing subway train. And my senses were telling me that Something was wrong. I jumped again at the feeling of a delicate hand touching mine in the darkness, shaking and cold. "'liyah? S'matter? Are-" I had to clear the sleep from my throat and rub at my very fuzzy vision, squinting in the inky darkness, "are you ok?"

"I- um- I'm really sorry. I'm **really** sorry. I just..." Something rumbled loudly from the other room and instantly I was out of bed, putting myself between Aaliyah and the sound.

"What is That?"

She whimpered from behind me again and, despite my very real blindness in that moment, turned and knelt down in front of her. "Leatherhead. I'm so sorry, Donnie, I'm so stupid. But it's been hours and I'm- c- can I sleep in here? He's rolling and clacking his jaws together and I think he's having a nightmare and growling and-"

The tremble in her voice and the sound of suppressed tears tore at my heart. My momentary panic had cleared my head enough that I could piece together what was happening. "Uh... yeah... I can... I can sleep on the floor. You can take mine."

She sniffed a little bit and wrapped her arms around my neck, breathing deeply to try to keep from crying. There was a little hiccup in my ear and I buried my face into her fragrant hair, effectively curling myself around her in a turtle cocoon. I didn't really know if that would help, but it felt protective. And if she was afraid, then maybe protective would be comforting. If nothing else, she wasn't pushing me away. In fact, her heart rate seemed to slowing down incrementally and her breathing deepened back down to the long, slow breaths that were normal for her size and lung capacity.

"Thanks Donnie." She hiccupped again, nuzzling my neck. "Heh, I could probably fall asleep just like this. This is much safer."

A small, embarrassing thought formed in the back of my mind but I quickly banished it before it could take root. "I'll stay up and stand watch, if... if that would help. I'll get you bundled up safe and sound in my nest and I'll make sure that you're safe."

Aaliyah shook her head and sniffed again, her shaking having finally stopped. "That's not fair to you. You shouldn't have to stay up just because I'm a big baby. I feel a lot better now though. I think I'll try to go sleep again. Thank you Donnie."

Disappointment was a bitter sting at this hour. "Are you sure? I'm happy to sleep on the floor if you need a safe place to sleep."

She chuckled and shook her head again, wiggling herself free of the cocoon I'd formed around her. "No, no I couldn't do that. Leatherhead won't hurt me, I'm just being stupid. Thanks for helping Donnie. You're the best."

Ok... well... that was at least some consolation. If I'd really actually helped then that was all that mattered. "You're welcome, anytime. I'm here. Good night Aaliyah."

"Good night Donnie."

The soft pat-pat-pat of her bare feet on the concrete soon disappeared and I quietly climbed back into bed, noting that Leatherhead seemed to have settled down a bit. For a moment, at least. Not a minute later, however, he started back up again and I very distinctly heard a squeak from the other room. Not three seconds later that squeak was back in our room and shivering on my plastron, head buried deeply in the crook of my neck.

"nopenopenopenopenopenopenope. Nope. That's not happening. Please can I sleep in here with you?I'm totally ok with you calling me a chicken in the morning if you want but I just can't sleep by myself tonight. Please don't sleep on the floor. Please stay with me?"

... And for the second time that night... my brain blanked. _Error 404: Page not found. What... what words even put together? How to words with responding? Yes? But... yes... but... oh gods yes? Was that appropriate? … Probably no. Ummmmm... try again?_

"If... uh... if that's what you need." _Oh shell this is not going well._ "I mean, uh, if you want. I can-" _I can beg Leatherhead to never ever leave our home forever as long as he lives,_ "I can stay. With you." _I never thought in any circumstance the universe could ever concoct that I'd actually... in MY bed?_ "I'll keep you safe."

"Thank you Donnie. You're so sweet to me, putting up with me." _Let me. Please, let me put up with everything. I would, every day, if you would let me._

"It's no problem. Just, uh, let me know if you need me to move around at all. I'm all hard and-" _OH GOD NO I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT_ **"I MEAN...** um... plastron. And carapace. And rigid exterior protective structures. Not comfortable."

_Somebody please come kill me now._

Despite my apparent failure to appropriately communicate anything in this moment, Aaliyah somehow found it in her heart to giggle instead of slap me like I deserved. "I'm actually very comfortable. Let me know if my body is crushing you."

I gigglesnorted at that. "You hardly have the body mass required to even make me slightly uncomfortable beneath your weight."

She hummed a nervous sigh and the sound vibrated straight to my core. "Ok. If you say so. I'm not going to keep you up, am I?" She whispered against my neck, much to my consternation, as I pulled a blanket over the two of us and I shook my head no in reply. There was little else I trusted myself with at that time. The slight shifting I had to do to get the blanket in place in turn caused Aaliyah to shift around on top of me and I nearly lost my mind completely right there in that moment. Not only was she straddling my lap to accommodate the curve of the nest but her hands also had settled in the valley that was just under the rim of my shell connecting to my bridge. I shuddered quite noticeably, to my deep embarrassment, but thankfully Aaliyah mistook it as a shiver from cold and cuddled up a bit more. Her hands shifted higher to hook over my shoulders and she stopped wiggling around, both of which greatly helped to ease the amount of concentration that was required to keep from embarrassing myself from the mounting torturous pressure in my lower carapace and plastron.

But then I had another problem. My hands were just hovering over her awkwardly and I had no idea of what to do with them. Given the delicate nature of the situation, the last thing I could bear would be to accidentally place them somewhere unwanted or inappropriate. The natural place seemed to be around her waist, but her chosen resting position made that seem like less and less of a good idea the more I thought about what that put my hands in close proximity to. I couldn't think of it for long, though, before the pressure started to build again.

Aaliyah, mysteriously all-knowing as she was, eventually sensed the cause of my growing mortification and gently reached behind her body to guide my hands into place. My face darkened at just how low she placed my hands on the small of her back but had absolutely no interest (or moxy) to question her on it. If that's where she wanted my hands, I'd never move them again. Also somehow knowing just how wide my eyes were in the blackness of the darkened lair, her fingertips trailed their torturously delicious way up my arm, zinging every nerve ending along the way with electricity, across my shoulder and up my neck to my cheek, where she carefully placed her hand over my eyes and pressed her lips to the crook of my neck in a quick, warm kiss.

"Goodnight Donnie."

I chuckled nervously and squirmed beneath her, praying to every god I'd ever heard of that the torture might end and yet oh please never, never let it stop. The pressure in my shell was unbearable, bordering on becoming actually painful, but there wasn't enough money or spare parts in the world that could have gotten me out of bed to go take care of the problem.

"Goodnight. Aaliyah."

Good night indeed. Like I could just fall asleep NOW? Ha. Even if I'd wanted to, and quite frankly any desire to sleep ever again was rapidly fading from my mind, I couldn't have done it. Not when she was here because she had chosen me to protect her. … Come to think of it, I was certainly not the most qualified for the job required. If anyone was qualified to protect someone, it would be the testosterone-fueled Raphael. He could probably protect her from a troop of rabid gorillas without breaking a sweat. Or Leonardo. With his self-imposed training regimen and his drive for perfection in his katas, he would have the skill needed to protect Aaliyah from just about anything. Shell, even Michelangelo was probably more qualified than I was. Littlest brother though he may be, there was no denying his natural knack for the martial arts and his incredible speed.

But here she was. Fragrant and soft and impossibly warm and in bed with ME. She'd bypassed all of the other brothers and come straight to this corner of the room. And now she was really here, difficult as it was to wrap my head around, and I swore in that moment that her trust would not be displaced. Whatever it took, I would make sure she did not regret her decision. And as embarrassing as our terrapin natures were sometimes, there was something deeply and instinctually soothing about just how warm her body temperature kept her skin. Like it was the most natural thing in the world to curl up protectively around her and keep her safe from everything that might possibly do her harm. It was like I could feel it all the way down to my bone marrow. Either that or it was the tingles of excitement that permeated my every cell at the echoes from today that were reverberating around in my head. Words and looks and events I couldn't have strung together in my wildest fantasy were now memories.

Memories!

Memories I seared into my mind so that I would never forget them until the day that I died, replaying them over and over as I drank deeply of the feminine scent and gentle press of weight against my front until I was drunken and swooning with it.

_I love you.  
Can I sleep with you?  
I care about you.  
Please don't sleep on the floor. _

_Stay with me._

The slide of her fingers over my skin, the fiery snarl she'd given Agent Bishop as she'd shot off the corner of his table. All of it rolled end over end until at some point memories skirted into dreams and my imagination ran wild with thoughts and possibilities it had never before been allowed to even look at in passing.

And then… it was morning. Sensei had given us the day off of training to rest and heal after our encounter with Agent Bishop and with the other brothers already up and about it was only the two of us left. I didn't dare even think about moving until she stirred, but then again… What would happen when she woke up? Would she be disoriented? Embarrassed? Apologetic? My heart skipped at the painful thought that maybe she would ask that we forget about last night and pretend it had never happened. That was a thing that apparently was a very real possibility, but I only knew from what media I'd seen on the topics at hand and according to Casey those were dubious sources at best.

After the series of nighttime imaginings I'd had, though, I would have to be lying if I didn't admit to myself that I really, really, REALLY hoped that maybe… just maybe… she'd be happy to see me when she first woke up. Shell, I'd even take slightly disoriented and Then happy if that could possibly be in the cards. Because I knew that I could not just pretend that it had never happened. Not after I knew, intimately, what it was like to be needed and to share a bed with someone who happily clung to you the whole night long. Even when I'd, in deep trepidation that it might break the tender and perfect moment, shifted around to a more comfortable position she had simply shifted with me. Moved in her sleep, without waking, to a position that was comfortable for both of us. That was incredible!

Especially considering that Mikey was the only one of the four brothers she was especially physically affectionate with. I'd… I'd honestly thought that maybe she had no physical interest in me. But that was apparently not the case. Confusingly enough, if anything else she was several orders of magnitude More affectionate and physical when in a state of unconsciousness. Not that I could especially point any fingers in her direction. In my own state of dreaming I'd somehow managed to completely encase her in a tangle of limbs and cuddling, and in my only semi-wakeful state couldn't seem to find the motivation to detangle us until absolutely necessary.

And that's when it started.

Light brushes of palms over scales turned to fingertips and fingernails. My head lolled to the side as they danced up my neck, shell instantly tightening and my veins felt like they were filled with lightning, and a sound akin to a cross between a hum and a purr dripped lewdly from my throat. A delicate hand skated over my cheek and cupped my jaw warmly, stirring something powerful beneath my plastron at the tickling sensation of her fingers brushing affectionately over and over my jaw. My body curled around the perfect, safe, amazing Aaliyah that was still mostly asleep around me and yet it still wasn't close enough. I just... wanted. I wanted so badly I ached with it, but I didn't know what _**it**_ was that I needed. It was a different kind of want than the throbbing that screamed to be released from my shell, **that** was a familiar pain I could separate from this other feeling. It was like... I missed her. Pined for Aaliyah even though she was right there, so completely surrounding me I found myself baffled by the very real want for her.

Finally she did stir herself awake, and the want pinched my heart as she looked around in slight confusion. Her eyes met mine and I couldn't breathe anymore, I'd forgotten how, because she was breathtaking. She gave me a sleepy little smile and nuzzled my shoulder that she'd been resting on and the want roared back to life. I could almost hear my insides snarling with it, growling for her and I could not understand it. Only experience it. My heartbeat raced as need and instinct pushed my head forward towards hers, touching my lips to her forehead. That felt a little bit better, and the one after that even better. Aaliyah giggled and rubbed her nose against my cheek before working to untangle herself from my long limbs that had snaked around her while we'd slept.

"Good morning Donnie." She shifted and I moved with her, hungry to keep her close but terrified of overstepping.

"Morning."

"How did you sleep?" Her hands lifted from my face and neck to comb through the waves of hair that were partially sticking to her cheek, head thrown back to expose the pulse point of her jugular and encourage her hair into a high ponytail atop her head.

"Good. Yourself?" The answer fell out of my mouth casually, a practiced response for when my mind was only half-listening to the conversation. The other half... or... two thirds... maybe three quarters was burning the image of her lithe frame perched atop my hips, eyes closed comfortably in easy concentration on her task, into my mind. I may have been present for the set of circumstances that led up to this moment, but I still couldn't quite believe it. And if this was the one and only time I would ever get to feel this intimately connected with someone, then I wanted to hold onto it for as long as I could.

"Better, thanks. And thank you." She replied, blushing a little and turning her head a bit to the side.

"For what?"

"For letting me invade your sleeping space. I should be too old for this stuff. You know... monsters under the bed and being too scared to sleep because of some strange noises in the night. I promise I'll suck it up tonight and get over myself." She turned her sheepish expression back to me with her promise, adorably red face flipping my stomach over for the umpteenth time this morning alone.

"It's fine. People of any age can become frightened by new additions to their environment, especially when that new addition involves an unfamiliar person. It's perfectly normal to be uncertain about the unknown." I explained, trying to figure out if there was a way to suggest in a roundabout way that I would not be put out in any way if she needed to 'invade my sleeping space' again tonight. And tomorrow night. Maybe every night? Was it wrong to secretly wish night terrors on someone else if it meant that there was a rearrangement of sleeping spaces? … Probably, and I did feel bad about it because I never wanted anything unfortunate to befall our Aaliyah... but still...

She quirked a half smile at me and pulled free of my grasp around her hips. "Thanks Don. But I mean it, I really am going to put my big girl pants on tonight so you can actually get a full night's rest. How about I thank you for putting up with my tantrum last night by making you something special for breakfast? What do you want?"

Another lewd thought crossed my mind but was hastily shoved under the proverbial rug, just in case she could somehow tell what I was thinking. "Um... you really don't have to... It really was no trouble."

"Yeah, but still. I want to make it up to you. So... French toast? Omelette's? What do you want this morning?" She insisted, and it seemed as though fighting her on this point was futile. But really? After everything that had happened I was now being made breakfast for my 'troubles'? More and more it was seeming like I'd actually died in Agent Bishop's lab and this was actually heaven instead of Earth.

"French toast, if you insist." I finally decided, and she smiled broadly as though she was the one winning the opportunity to do something for me.

"Perfect." She started out of the shared bedroom, leaving me in the nest, pausing at the hallway to look back gratefully. As if she was the one who had reason to be filled deeply and profoundly with gratitude. "Thanks again, Don. You really are the best."

I nodded evenly and returned the grin. "Anytime."

As soon as she was gone my head dropped backwards and I exhaled in a rush like I'd been holding my breath the entire morning, body as limp as a rag doll. I absolutely reeked of pheromones and I was positive the guys could probably smell it from wherever they were in the lair. I needed a very long, very private shower and about 4 cups of coffee before I'd likely be able to function normally today, but I wouldn't have traded one femtosecond of time with her for anything in the world. Not a single one.


	14. Crossroads

Luckily it was not difficult to keep my word to Donnie that I would stay in my own bed the next night. Leatherhead had an incident and took off, leading the brothers on a merry chase through the sewers that ended in them finding him a new place to stay. No poachers this time around, which I was grateful for, and Donnie was the one to eventually locate the new home for our new friend. From what I could tell Leatherhead was more of the brawn character like in the 1987 and 2012 cartoons, not so much brains like his 2003 counterpart. But even at that he still seemed to get along with everyone well enough. Raphael and Michelangelo especially took a fast liking to the reptile, but Donnie and Leo were both just as eager to make sure he knew that he was welcome at the Lair anytime he wanted to visit.

I personally was cordial, but let the enthusiasm of the brothers speak for the family. Leatherhead really was a sweetheart, but it was going to take a little bit of time before every clack and flash of his sharp teeth didn't make my stomach somersault uncomfortably several times. Sensei didn't give me a lot of time to think about it, however, as my training finally resumed now that Friday had come and gone. That, and the next day after LH had been settled into his new home and Donnie and I had installed a security system for the big guy that he could run on his own, we had old Casey Jones stroll in to Donnie's lab wearing a grease monkey jumpsuit.

"Hey Donnie, can I borrow some tools? I got a friend payin' me a few extra bucks ta fix somma the rides over on Coney Island and I need a couple'a things ta do the job right." He announced, swaggering over to Donatello's toolbox but pausing before cracking it open until he had the OK from it's owner. My ears were already perked, however, and I began detangling myself from the mess of recovered wiring that Donnie and I were working to wrap onto spools for later use.

"Sure, just bring them back in one piece." Donnie replied, paying more attention to my sudden movements than to the request.

"Casey, when are you going to Coney Island?"

"Tonight. Just on my way over right now, actually. Why, you wanna come?" He asked with a smirk. I rolled my eyes humorously and huffed a laugh, still wiggling myself free of the snare I'd gotten myself into.

"ALL of us are going to come. Hang on, let me just-"

"Here." Donnie offered, reaching over to stretch and pull the wires that had wrapped around my ankles.

"Thanks Don."

"I appreciate the offer, but really it's a simple job. I don't need ta be babysat an' the guys ain't gettin' paid like I am." He replied, closing the lid once he'd found what he needed. "Not unless it's just ya way of tryin' ta spend a little quality time with Casey Jones, which I don't blame ya for."

"Ha ha, doofus. Very funny. No, if you're being offered a gig at Coney Island then that means Nano's back." I explained, and Donnie jerked back up in his chair now that I was free.

"What? Really? Already?"

"Yep. Donnie, please bring a laptop that works well enough to reprogram the operating system of a rollercoaster and turn it into an electromagnet that can short-circuit a raging mass of nanobots but also one you don't mind having fried. If I remember correctly, the laptop is not going to survive this encounter. We're going to make an enormous EMP. Any extra cables necessary to hook into the roller coaster OS would be a good idea to pack along too."

"On it." He replied, hurrying off to grab his things.

"Wait, what's going on?" Casey asked, utterly confused, but I didn't have the time to explain it to him now. I'd take care of that on the way.

"LEO!" I shouted, hurrying out of Donnie's lab. Leo and Raphael were sparring in the dojo, barely turning a head to acknowledge my entrance.

"Kinda busy here, what is it?" He grunted, shoving Raphael roughly to give himself some more room to maneuver. Any other day I would have paused to take in the sight of their sparring: bulging muscles glistening with sweat and their ferocious snarls bouncing off of the walls of the dojo. I never could stay and watch for very long or else run the risk of stinking up the whole lair with whatever the heck kind of smells humans give off when they're particularly excited. Mostly I was motivated by the mortification that it would actually stink as a way to keep myself in check and avoid lingering around the dojo more than necessary, but there was also awkwardness to consider as well. The last thing I wanted was to get kicked out for making everyone feel awkward in their own home.

"Guys, put it away and gear up, we're leaving in 5 for Coney Island. Nano should be making an appearance there tonight." I announced, and immediately the both froze and stood up straight.

"The hell? How-"

"He's back? On Coney Island? How do you know?"

"Magic, now gear up. I'll go find Mikey and get him ready too. Donnie's already grabbing the laptop. I'll explain the plan of attack on the way." Leo grimaced a little bit at being told what to do but I was already gone before I could address his sour expression. "MIKEY!"

"In here babycakes, whatcha need?" He called from the couch and I hurried over.

"Your rocket skateboard. Is she all juiced up and ready to roll?" I asked, leaning over the back of the couch to drape myself over his shoulder. His arm instinctively reached up and wrapped around my middle, face nuzzling happily into my cheek.

"You betcha babe. Whatcha need it for?"

I grinned and blew a raspberry on his cheek. "Coney Island. Grab your chucks and your board and head for the van. We got a baddie on the loose and we'll need some speed."

He jumped up and dragged me over the couch, happily swinging us around the furniture. "Aw baby girl you are the BEST! I've totally always wanted to go to Coney Island! Can we ride one of the rides? Please please please? Just one? Maybe two? Aw, Who cares! It's gonna be sa-weet!"

And sweet it was. Despite the very recent incident with Bishop we were all in good spirits and in fighting shape, and once we arrived at Coney Island with Casey Jones we were also all well versed in how everything needed to go in order for there to be minimal injuries and minimal damage to the Fairgrounds. Each of us went into position, and then there we waited. Donnie and I went to the coaster he had decided to be suitable for the task at hand, fingers flying to generate the polar flux field that would create the electromagnet required for the job. The several minutes of head start that we had meant he did not need to set the program into motion immediately, however, and that gave him time to review his coding a couple of times.

We chatted for a few minutes about his code that he'd written before a deafening crash announced Nano's arrival. Raphael's voice carried at a shout from the other side of the coaster at having seen what Nano had grown into. "Uh... guys? Our playdate is here and it ain't lookin' so good. You sure about this?"

I laughed and shook my head, though only Donnie could see it, and called back. "Yeah, just wait til he sees you guys. THEN this party will Really get started!"

Mikey joined the conversation, his voice raising in pitch nervously. "I don't think I like your kinds of parties! AAAH! He spotted me!"

Then it was all systems go, with Leo, Mikey, and Raph taking the lead for the first part of the plan. Anger the thing into giving chase, lead it to Donnie and myself, fry it on the rollercoaster. The next part was mine to play, speaking to the police officers and turning in the stolen materials to collect the reward. Only Raphael, from several weeks ago, knew that the reward was a sizeable one. And I wanted to keep it that way so that there wouldn't be squabbling or other problems while we had a giant robot on our hands to take care of. The last fight between these guys and Nano hadn't gone so well, so working as quickly and efficiently as possible was key.

Luckily, everyone else was on the same page as well. It only took a couple of minutes for the boys to get Nano to chase them our way, and when Donnie had been given the signal he entered the 'run' command and the roller coaster sparked to life. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end at the intense fields of electricity that were gathering in strength, building at the series of commands that Donnie had entered. It was spectacular, and even though my heart was in my throat at the danger of it I already knew that this spot was safe. Mikey fired up his rocket board and led the robot on a chase through the park, every dozen seconds or so punctuated with a crash of something being destroyed, until Nano chased him right to us. Then with a deafening ZAP that sounded like a crack of lightning Nano was fried to a crisp.

I hate to admit it, but the sound of it crying 'family' as it faded away was Way more heartbreaking in person. The robotic warble of distress reminded me so painfully of the daughter I'd lost that instinctively my arms wrapped around my middle, tears pricking at my eyes. I'd done pretty well, all things considered, by staying busy and focused on getting the guys ready for their big and upcoming brawl with Shredder. Sometimes at night the pain of loss would sneak up on me, though, but it was ok to cry then. I could do it quietly where no one else had to be bothered with it. Here and now, in front of everybody, was not the place for the gaping maw in my chest to reopen and bleed hot tears all over everything.

But, sometimes, things happen when they're inconvenient. And my heart decided that it needed to gush for a minute, damn whoever was there. Including Donnie, who started from his mildly forlorn analysis of his ruined laptop in surprise at hearing me sniffle a little. "Aaliyah! Are you alright? Did you get hurt?"

I jumped, startled, and quickly shook my head. "No, no, I just... I'm just being a big baby." But no sooner had I started to respond then suddenly all of the brothers were at my side, all speaking at once.

"Hey! What's going on?"

"Yeah, why's our best girl crying?"

"Donnie? What'd ya do?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Didja hurt her? Babycakes are ya hurt?"

"Of course I didn't hurt her!"

"Well she ain't cryin' fer nothin', hotshot!"

"She SAID she wasn't hurt!"

"Aaliayh, what's the matter? Are you alright?"

I couldn't help it. The noise and the chaos was all too much at once and suddenly the Avoidant in me was screaming to get the heck out of there. "I'm fine, I'm fine." I started repeating, quickly wiping at my eyes and stealing away past the wreckage. Running wasn't an option, though I really wanted to, because the minute I ran I was sure that they'd chase me down in even more concern. But power walking certainly was an option, so I cruised through the destruction and the rubble towards the entrance to the park where police sirens were sounding. Perfect! It was absolutely the perfect distraction that would keep me separated from the guys long enough to settle down.

As the officers rounded the corner I started waving and pointing, the front vehicle screeching to a stop right in front of me. Two doors popped open and the driver quickly jumped out. "Ma'am!"

"It's back there!" I shouted, suddenly thankful that I looked and sounded hysterical. Far less suspicious that way. "A huge machine with a man in an orange jumpsuit in it! It just fell apart after destroying half of the park, hurry!"

"Eastman, stay with this woman and take her statement!" He directed, waving me out of the way. His partner nodded curtly and slammed his door shut, the several police cars peeling off towards the direction I'd just come from. From there, getting into character was easy. I'd come to the park with my friend to help him do some repairs on the coasters when the machine showed up and started destroying the park. He and I got separated and Oh my gosh what if he's hurt! Please, tell your other officers to keep an eye out for a man in a blue mechanics jumpsuit and tell me he's not dead! What if Casey is dead! And then some crying for the policeman helped to seal the story. He took my phony information and stayed with me until another officer brought over Casey, who I ran to and hugged tightly. Terrible liar that Casey Jones was, he awkwardly accepted the hug and haltingly tried to assure me that the 'monster' didn't get him.

After that I was able to slip away while Casey was giving his own statement, disappearing behind a nearby pavilion. I was joined only moments later by the band of ninjas who, true to character, seemed to appear out of thin air beside me. An impressive feat for being over 6 feet and likely 300+ pounds. "That was some performance ya gave there." Raphael commented as he appeared in my field of vision.

"Yeah! I didn't even HEAR the cops until after you hurried away! I totally thought you were pissed off or something but dude, you totally called it!" Mikey joined in excitedly, though Raphael didn't seem to buy Michelangelo's assumption. Leo didn't either, I could tell by the suspicious way he looked me over from head to toe.

"So you're alright then?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Yep! Fit as a fiddle. Now I just need to snag the stolen stuff and turn it in. I figured that would be easier if I started off with a statement, you know?" I lied through my teeth with a smile, but Leo didn't push the issue any further. Instead, he nodded to Donnie.

"Actually, we already grabbed it for you. We thought that maybe you could use the money to get your own place here, since Raphael says there's a big reward out for the return of these items." He sheepishly added, handing over the chest of loot.

"Donnie, I couldn't. I don't have a job!" I started to protest, but he quickly cut in to assure me he'd thought it through.

"It's ok. I can plumb and wire you right into the city like we are and by my estimates the reward money should be enough to buy a piece of property outright. You wouldn't need to make monthly payments on it, so you wouldn't have to be stuck down in the sewers for forever." The omitted 'like us' hung in the air like the heavy presence of the officers all over the park and it threatened to get the floodgates opened back up again.

"That's very sweet of you." I replied quietly, and Mikey jumped in.

"Yeah! We'll totally get you all hooked up and everything! And maybe you can find someplace close to the lair!"

"We'll make sure that you're safe." Leonardo added. "We all will."

"We'll miss you, since I guess that means you wouldn't be around as much anymore." Donnie added forlornly, his hands clasping behind him and his eyes turning down towards the spot on the ground his toe was scuffling.

"Guys..." I started, only to have Casey Jones grab my arm quickly right then.

"Hey! If ya gonna turn in the reward ya gotta do it now. Cops are packin' up. Ya want me to come with ya? They'll probably have ta take ya downtown an' stuff ta get ya reward. I can getcha back after they're done with ya." His smile seemed genuine enough and sure enough, several police cruisers pulled out at that moment.

"Uhhhh... sure. Yeah, probably would be smart to have someone there with me." I conceded to Casey's logic after a short moment of deliberation, not without noticing Donnie's slightly sour expression at their human friend. So I nodded towards the group as Casey started ushering me away, calling over my shoulder, "We'll talk more about this later, ok? I'll see you a little later!"

"Bring back pizza angelcakes!" Mikey called out, and I didn't miss the sound of several solid smacks and a pained 'ow!' as I was led back towards the flashing red and blue lights. Casey and I both chuckled at that while he flagged down an officer and I hefted the treasure chest that was now digging painfully into the flesh of my forearms.

"Hey! Yo! My, uh, friend here found the loot ya guys have been lookin' for. Isn't there some kinda reward out for the return 'a this stuff?" He called over to the policeman, who upon seeing what I was hauling immediately hurried over.

"Yes! Yes, we've been searching for this for months! Where did you find it?"

"The guy had put it out in plain sight in the arrangement heading into the park." I answered truthfully, fibbing only on the next little part. "I'd thought there was something funny about it when I walked in, so I wanted to make sure it got back to the rightful owners."

"Incredible! Right out in plain sight, huh? HEY LAIRD! GET OVER HERE! YA GOTTA SEE THIS!" He shouted over to his partner who was heading towards the squad car. I had to stifle a giggle at the names of the officers, glowing at the recognition of them.

"Well I'll be. Is that what I think it is?" The other officer asked as he approached and I nodded at him.

"Sure is! You'll never guess where this little lady found it either! Right out front! You know that "Family Fun" setup they had? Right up there!"

"Get outta town! There's a big reward out for that! 'Course, we gotta take it downtown an' make sure it's all there first."

"Right, right. Miss, you wouldn't mind coming with us down to the station would you? I know it's getting late..."

"No, I don't mind." I replied quickly to the back and forth going on between the two officers, instinctively taking a half-step towards Casey. I may not have been on exactly the most endearing of terms with him, but I was happy to stick by his side in this situation. Even in my last lifetime I'd never been to a police station before except to pay a parking ticket. And in a world like this where it was definitely not the smartest of ideas to go anywhere alone, Casey was my new siamese twin. "You don't mind my boyfriend coming along too, right?"

Casey sputtered a little bit but the officer waved his hand easily. "Naw, that's no problem. Come with us, Ma'am, we'll give you a lift in the squad car."

* * *

It was nearly 2 A.M. by the time I was able to make it back to the lair, courtesy of Casey Jones and his motorcycle. I stumbled in sleepily with a couple of boxes of pizza, immediately getting scooped up in an enthusiastic hug by Michelangelo. "HEY! I waited up for you because I wanted to make sure that you got home safe! Leo was gonna wait up too but I told him I was all over it and I totally had the welcoming committee situation handled. How did it go? Did you bring Pepperoni? Did ya?"

I laughed at him and nuzzled as much of him as I could, the awkward angles not exactly helping my ability to return his affections. "Of course not. You know what pepperoni does to you and I think I'd get kicked out for sure for making that mistake twice. Speaking of getting kicked out, where's Fearless and everybody else?"

Mikey put me down and led me to the table with a quiet scoffing sound. "Bed, 'cept Mr. Dark and Moody. He's workin' on his computer."

"Mr. Dark and Moody? Why is Donnie being dark and moody?" I asked with a scrunch of my face, setting the pizza boxes down quietly.

"The whole 'using the reward money to get you your own place' thing. For obvious reasons. You should probably go talk to him, he's really bummed out right now." Mikey offered through a greedy bite of the slice of Supreme he'd already nabbed.

"Mikey, it sounded like Leo wanted me to get my own place. If I need to leave the lair then I'll leave the lair, no questions asked. I WANT to stay here, but I won't overstay my welcome." I tried to explain, but Michelangelo shook his head adamantly while trying to swallow quickly.

"No no nonono! No, baby girl, we all want you to stay. Leo's just a party pooper who can't always say what he really means. What he meant to say was, "give Mikey all of the money so he can have a lifetime supply of pizza!" " He imitated Leo's voice as best as he could, trying to be sarcastically serious. I laughed and he giggled, growing a little more stoic after that. "But really, I think what everyone meant to say is that we don't want you feeling stuck down here. And now that you have this big wad of cash, now you could get your own place if you wanted. And if that's what you want, then we'll do what we need to ta make it happen. But really, we don't want you to go. Who else is gonna laugh at all of my jokes and cuddle with me all the time!?"

I giggled appreciatively and scooted over to perch myself in Mikey's lap. "No, no. I don't want to leave if I don't have to. Too many sexy men running around down here for me to leave. You're gonna be stuck with me until you drop me on the curb with the Tuesday trashbags. Either that or until my usual luck catches up with me and I do something stupid that kills me with embarrassment. I've been pretty lucky so far but I can just tell that my luck isn't going to hold out forever. One of these days I'm gonna goof up royally and then I'll have a permanent blush and have to move out." I teased, and Mikey laughed while snagging a third slice.

"Naw, you're too cute when you blush for us to let you outta here over something like THAT. Like the time you bumped into Raphael after he just walked out of the shower when the heater went out and he was hollerin' at Don ta get it fixed?" Unable to put the food in his mouth for how badly he was cracking up I could feel my cheeks flame at the mere mentioning of the memory. "Oh my gosh you were red for like an hour after that! It was the most adorable thing I've ever seen! It made it all the way down to your boobs too!"

I had to scoot out of Mikey's lap for how hard he was cracking up, his pizza long forgotten, in order to avoid getting rolled on now that he was wiggling around on his side. "Alright, alright, settle down, you're gonna wake the family! Shhhhhhh!" I shushed Mikey and he finally composed himself, thought he continued to lightly giggle every time he looked at me now that I was blushing again. "I'll go see Don and make sure he's ok. YOU go to bed mister or you're going to be miserable tomorrow."

"Don't stay up too late you two! I'll come chaperone if I need to! Don't think I won't!" Mikey called after me and I did my best to roll my eyes at him.

"No you won't. You'd lock us in a closet if you could, and don't you deny it because then I'd know you were lying."

He just grinned and shrugged his shoulders innocently before turning (a bit dramatically) and giving me his best attempt at a seductive look over his shoulder, setting me giggling again. "Either that or lock you in with me so we can play Seven Minutes in Heaven!"

I laughed and shooed him off to bed, blowing him a playful kiss from down the little hallway which he caught and smacked onto his lips with a wink before disappearing towards his nest. I shook my head at him and padded over quietly into the next room, making a stop first into my little area to slip out of my shoes and shrug out of my jacket. Then with a tired stare at my bed, made the decision that I might as well slip into my pajamas while I was there. 2:30 A.M. was definitely tugging on my eyelids as I stuffed myself into a baggy tee and scrubs, but if Donnie was worrying himself over a comment Leo had made then I needed to sort it out. A tired Donatello was a sassy, cranky Donnie who got little done in the way of work, even though his determination to do so seemed to skyrocket.

So it was back out into the dark and quiet lair to search out a dark and moody turtle. He was right where Michelangelo had said he was, half-heartedly typing away at some lines of code that bliped across his computer screen. I was no ninja, but being under the thumb of someone controlling teaches you how to get around in silence. And so it was noiselessly that I approached his computer chair, already planning ahead for the surprised roll of his wheels, planting my feet outside the danger zone before softly slipping my hand onto his shoulder.

He started out of his reverie, yelping a little, and rolled backwards reflexively. He missed my toes, which I was grateful for, and immediately panicked just a bit at the realization of who was disturbing him at this late hour. "Aaliyah! I, I thought you might have gone to bed. You startled me."

"Sorry. I just wanted to come check on you. It's late, and you should get some sleep." I replied with the slightest of reproachful head tilts in his direction. He sighed and rubbed his face, pushing his glasses up with his large, calloused hands.

"I know, but there's a bug in this security program. I really need to figure it out." I nodded in understanding but truthfully I could tell a cover story from a mile away. Especially with Donnie. Out of all the brothers, Michelangelo was the easiest regular read because he always wore his heart on his sleeve. But even he could hide things if he wanted to. Raphael was the next easiest read once you figured out how his mind worked and you could understand the subtle differences in his various rages and tirades he regularly set out on. Donnie was next easiest to read, as he normally stayed fairly calm and even in temperament but could set aside his emotions easily when he needed to get a specific task completed. Leo was the most difficult to tell at first glance, but even he had his ways of letting you know what was going on in his head. And right now Donnie wore an expression of deep contemplation and emotional turmoil, belieing his cover for what it really was.

And honestly, I didn't have the energy or patience at this hour of the night to deal with him being evasive in order to save face. "Donnie." The soft calling of his name pinched his expression momentarily before his eyes blinked back open and he turned to it. I reached out my hands to him and after a moment of hesitation he took them in his own and clung to them. I gave him my softest, warmest, most understanding smile I could pull together at this hour of the night and took a half-step in towards him. "Would you like to talk to me about what this is really about?"

His throat undulated noisily a few times, but he never took his eyes from mine. Even in his seated position he was nearly level with me, and with this new proximity to his face I could so much better appreciate the intensity of those wide, intelligent, golden irises. And more than I cared to admit, I wanted to get lost in them. Not that I could have, not at that moment. Not when I needed to stay focused on the task at hand so I could go die in my bed for a couple of hours. Luckily I didn't have to focus for too long as Donnie finally drew in a deep breath through his nose, eyes fluttering briefly as he did so.

"Do you want some help finding an ideal location to move to?" He finally asked, and I did have to commend him for his tactful response. It was direct, and yet totally and completely indirect. Maddeningly perfect in it's diversion away from the underlying source of the problem, which is exactly how I would have worded the response if the roles had been reversed. And in an act of total understanding (and fatigue), I moved his hands to my hips so that I could cradle his neck and his jaw, pulling myself even closer for emphasis (and balance.)

"Only if you want me to leave." I answered lowly, slowly, so that he'd catch every word of it. He swallowed noisily again and his eyes flickered uncertainly between mine, tongue dashing between his lips to wet them nervously. "I don't want to leave, but if you want me to go then I'll get packing now. I'm happier here than I've ever been and I never want to have to leave. Someday eventually I might need to, and have to, but until then I'm here until I'm no longer welcome."

He cleared his throat a little and looked off to the side, his skin darkening. "You... might be here for a long time then."

I smiled, satisfied that this was about as good of a response as I was going to get at this hour, and leaned in to peck his cheek. "Good. Now, it's time for you to go to bed. Come on, up on your feet."

It might have been the proximity or the hour or who knows what but he did as I asked and stood up to his full height. With a slight smirk I gestured to his tech gear and he awkwardly, haltingly, pulled it off and plugged it in to charge for the night. I started to turn away to lead him to the shared bedroom when I noticed the stiff roll of the shoulder his pack mostly rested on and the way his hand reached up to squeeze the muscles there. Doing a double take I couldn't help but whip around, startling him again.

"Are you hurting?"

"N-No!" He quickly responded, but the shifting of his eyes said otherwise. "I'm fine."

"Liar. Come, sit." I motioned with my hand for him to follow me, a second wind of energy rising up and clearing the heaviness out of my limbs.

"I'm fine, really, you don't need to. Weren't you just saying it was late?" He offered in the way of feeble argument, and I turned to pin him down under my stare. He wasn't wrong. It was very, Very late. But he'd sleep better and perform better as a team member if he didn't have painfully stiff and sore shoulders either. The only question remaining was whether or not trading a little sleep for some relief from discomfort and tension was worth it. Quietly, I answered with a neutral expression that he could interpret however he wanted to.

"Donatello Hamato, I will never force you to do something that you're uncomfortable with. I will never, I Could never and I Would never, do anything to you that you don't want done. Especially if it's something that I could not give back. But I am offering you a shoulder massage now because you look like you need it. If you want to accept, then come sit. If you don't, then that's fine too, but then in that case you need to go to bed. You do so much for this family and I cannot, in good conscience, let you go around underperforming if I can help to remedy that situation. So please, if I may, come take a seat."

He shifted a little, hunched over a bit and rubbing his arm self consciously, but after only a handful of seconds spent in deliberation padded over and lowered himself to the ground in front of the couch. Carefully I crawled across the pizza box furniture and knelt up immediately behind him. The cracking and crunching of my fingers and wrists as I stretched them out seemed to echo through the lair in the stillness of the late hour and I winced a little at it. Resolving to work quickly so as to avoid disturbing anyone and get Donnie into bed in time to catch at least a couple of hours of sleep, I collected the tails of his mask and let them slide through my fingers directly behind his head so that they rested mainly on his shell.

Already he was beginning to stiffen up in anticipation and I let out a little huff of air in amusement at him. "Donatello, relax. You're in good hands. I used to give my father and my husband shoulder massages all of the time."

"I am relaxed." He insisted, making me snort.

"Uh huh." I started trying to knead out the balls of knotted muscle beneath his skin but he was as stiff as iron and half as malleable. I might as well have been trying to massage a stone statue. Sighing in irritation I lifted my hands from him and flicked his shell.

"Alright, this is not working. We're going to have to take some drastic measures." He started to stammer out an appology and shift to stand up but I grabbed his shell and pulled him back down. "Did I say I was giving up? Uh, no. I just said this requires some drastic measures. Now sit and breathe."

He started to shrink in embarrassment, earning him another eye roll and a flick to his shell. "Stahp, you're just making it worse. I'm just going to scratch your shell for a minute to get you to loosen up and then I'll get back to your shoulders. Sheesh."

"You don't have to..."

"No, but I want to." I affirmed, sitting down to give my knees a break. Then with two hands I started at his nuchal scute and swirled my fingernails over and over and over each bony plate of his carapace in turn. While my hands moved of their own accord I focused on his posture and his breathing to tell me how things were going. At first he didn't breathe at all, holding it tentatively until he grew accustomed to the tickling sensation that normally drew out the loudest and lewdest moans from Michelangelo when he occasionally begged for a rubdown. But even a turtle can't hold his breath forever, and eventually Don let out a slow, even breath and the balled fists at his side smoothed and spread themselves out on the concrete. His head gradually lolled forward on his chest in submission to the attentions and occasionally he would twitch at a particular pair of scutes near his hips being scratched.

If I was being completely honest with myself, I absolutely reveled in the feeling of absolute power I had at that moment. Holding him on the innocent edge of a knifeblade, I could have could have sent him over and taken him. All of him. A few sultry words and some easy relocation of my ministrations and he could have been mine, but I let him stay perched there on the edge instead. Even at the late hour such as this, when all else were asleep and the moment was golden with opportunity I simply couldn't take it. I cared too much to be so selfish as that, but there was no denying the thrill of controlling that kind of power over someone who would have given it willingly, eagerly, if the timing had been different. Maybe even now he was daring to hope that maybe I would ask to dive into that deep, deep ocean with him. But until he and his family were safe, I couldn't no matter how much I wanted to.

Hoping to completely subdue him so he physically could not tense back up when I reattempted his shoulders (as well as maybe giving in just a little to the dark temptation of just tasting what it would be like to have him quivering beneath my hands) I slid my fingers around to tease little swirls up the lip of his shell, though I was careful to avoid dipping under it as I was sorely, sorely tempted to do. About halfway up his breathing had become a bit ragged and a few subtle noises were escaping his throat. Satisfied that I'd sufficiently Jello-fied him once my hands met at the top of his shell I couldn't help but steal one more small self-indulgent slide of my fingernails under the rim, slipping softly down the sensitive keratin in a way that made his whole body shudder. In the haze of exhaustion and the late, late hour I could not have cared less about how the thrill that lanced through my core was likely doing to the air around the two of us. I could only grin sleepily at the back of his head. Keeping contact with his skin I moved across the expanse of green behind his neck until finally I was gripping his shoulders and began kneading the pliant and (finally) relaxed muscles there, pulling us both back away from that dark, velvety place that beckoned so very sweetly.

He moaned under his breath, head still lolled limply on his chest, as I alternated between fighting with the stubborn knots and simply dancing my fingers over him to give him reprieve between rounds. To be completely honest... his whole shoulder was one giant knot, and as much as it pained me to have to admit it to myself, this was a much bigger job than could be handled at 3 A.M. all in one sitting. More than my hands could take in one sitting, anyways, and finally after an hour of work I leaned forward and pecked the top of his bald head.

"Alright mister, that's all we're doing for tonight. We'll tackle this some more tomorrow, but you need to sleep."

He sighed slowly, unmoving from his upright and limp position. " 'm already asleep." He mumbled under his breath, hands flexing slowly. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, unable to fight the pull of the hour any longer. Slipping from the couch I reached down and swept one of his hands up off of the floor, tugging on it to encourage him to his feet. He groaned unhappily at being asked to move but complied without much argument to offer. His full height finally, unsteadily, uncoiled and we both stumbled in the direction of the shared bedroom. I paused just outside of the sleeping area and gently drew my hand from his, patting his shell lightly.

"Nite nite, sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

Donnie giggled a little and shook his head, rubbing under his glasses. "Raphael would never allow bed bugs. But good night to you as well. Pleasant dreams."

It was then that he looked down at me with an expression of deep deliberation and the darkness purred lowly in my ear again. His eyes glanced at my lips and the flip-flop of my stomach told me all that I needed to know about what was causing the wheels in his head to spin. I'd seen that look before on the faces of nearly a dozen men in my lifetime before. And each one of them all ended the same way. Now that the tables were turned and I was the one sitting on the knife edge, I found myself equal parts thrilled and terrified. And like the proverbial shoulder angel and shoulder devil that appear at moments like this in the cartoons, I faced a crossroads with warring arguments buzzing in my cranium.

I could do it. I could let him have his moment of bravery, indulge his boyish fantasy and let him take as much as he dared. I could let him have one night. Heaven knows I wanted to, after going from being (unhappily) married to suddenly living with my ultimate fantasy. And after all, in the grand scheme of things, what was one night of indulgence after two full lives spent in service to others? And the honest answer I had to give myself... was one that had me slipping instead up to his plastron to hug him tightly as a casual means of breaking the moment before it began. I couldn't fall prey to that pretty lie again. Not after being fooled already when giving away my virginity in a moment of indignant rage towards my parents, ending in a broken marriage with a beautiful and brilliant baby girl that proved the most amazing things can come from some terrible nights. Not after one blink of an eye had been all that was required to take her away from me and land me in a place that I thought only existed in fiction and television. Not after one wrong sentence had nearly broken this family's faith in me and I'd almost had to leave. Not after one bullet had so dramatically altered the timeline of these incredible and resilient warriors. And before the velvety night could change my mind I turned and strode purposefully towards my bed, eager to escape the siren song of the night.


	15. Ratchet

Human behavior was a maddening mystery that I found myself utterly obsessed with figuring out in the days that followed the incident with Nano. I had questions and I needed answers because if I didn't have answers then I was left with nothing I could use to formulate any kind of action by. And if I had no course of action then that meant I was stuck with inaction, and knowing my luck any form of inaction would most likely lead to Aaliyah's attentions and affections diverting elsewhere. Like towards Michelangelo, who seemed perfectly at ease completing as many actions with (and towards) Aaliyah as he was allowed. Sometimes I found myself wondering if he was doing it with the specific intention of getting under my shell and driving me insane, because watching him express so many physical affections towards Aaliyah burned something sharp and impatient in my chest. I did my best to ignore them, as I was in absolutely no place to tell anyone what they were and were not allowed to do, but each attempt left me feeling a little bit more frustrated each time.

I didn't think it was jealousy. After all, I knew that it was a part of Michelangelo's personality that she happened to find endearing and therefore would encourage. And I was fairly certain that if I was more inclined to (and enthusiastic about) public displays of physical affection then she would likely reciprocate them just the same. If any of us were, she would treat us with the same amount of physical affection that Michelangelo so easy garnered. And yet therein lay the problem.

I heard a quote once by hero Ted Kord, better known as one of the incarnations of the "Blue Beetle," in respect to Wonder Woman. "Here's the secret about Diana. We all love her. Even Batman. It's the way she says your name, like she knows you, knows everything about you, the best and the worst. Like she knows, and she loves you anyway." And in every way this same thing could be said about the beautiful gift of a woman that was slowing tearing apart my sanity. We all loved her, even Raphael, despite the short amount of time she'd been with us. Every look, every touch, every word and every little gesture just reminded us over and over again that she knew everything and loved us anyways. Shell, maybe she even loved us **because** of our shortcomings. The thought wouldn't have been a revolutionary one, but that didn't take away the incredibility of it.

Therefore, by my inability to act I was essentially cutting off my own foot. Terrifying as it was, at some point in my increasingly distracted state I'd come to the conclusion that I absolutely needed to try for her. Never once, besides April and Casey, had any of us encountered another human who was willing to look past our differences and see us as people instead of monsters. And the more I thought about it, the less and less likely it seemed that we ever would. If there had been someone on our planet who was willing and able to treat us the way Aaliyah did, then whatever cosmic being had sent her here would have instead likely put them in our path. By all means of logical reasoning it would seem that simply creating the circumstance required for a chance meeting of two people on the same planet would be much easier than taking someone from a different universe altogether and placing them in the same situation. That is, assuming that the outcomes would have been the same in both cases.

Therefore it would stand to reason that if put into Aaliyah's same situation, the outcome would not have been favorable. Heartbreaking as that realization may have been, it was equally as staggering to think that in order to find someone like her The Cosmic Being had needed to travel to a completely different dimension. No creature from anywhere in our own incredibly expansive and seemingly unending universe would have had the same favorable outcome. And therefore the overwhelmingly supported conclusion that I was forced to draw was that should I fail there would literally be a zero percent chance for any kind of companionable relationship ever again in my life. The mathematics were too depressing to run in order to come up with a more accurate figure, and I was no stranger to deeply abismal calculations.

To not act was to give up on the possibility to ever experience love, and that was far more terrifying than the very likely possibility that I'd make a fool of myself in the process. Even if, by some impossible chance, this Being happened to grant us another friend the odds of that person being like Aaliyah were laughable. Someone as intelligent, curious, mysterious, calculating, yet open, selfless, and understanding? So experienced with science and able to keep up with my steady stream of jargon without losing (and possibly even gaining) interest in my embarrassingly constant desire for conversation? No. I'd need several reams of paper to be able to include the number of decimal places required for such a figure. And quite frankly the time it would require to write or even type out a number like that would be a waste of time when there were other things to be doing.

And to be honest the near-constant ruckus that permeated my workspace all seemed to be telling me over and over again that even being in here was inconsequential when compared to what I could be doing instead. What I should be doing instead. Even as I ratcheted down the lugnuts on the Battle Shell's tires, the familiar d-d-d-d tshhhhhh d-d-d-d tshhhhhhh of the ratchet seemed to be asking me the very same questions I'd had rattling around my brain for days.

D-d-d-d-d tshhhhhhh

D-d-d-d-d shhhhhhh

Diiiiiid sheeeee

Diiid sheee

Did she

Did she?

_Did she?_

_DID SHE?_

Did she know? Was she somehow telepathic? Could she tell that night that I'd been thinking of taking that next step of stupidity and bravery out of the delusion that somehow after all of the things she'd made me feel that it was a good idea? That I'd still been drunk on the deep and visceral scent of her arousal, and had been feeling emboldened by it? That I'd been wondering if her lips might taste as good as she smelled? The hug had been abrupt and she'd turned heel immediately after, walking quickly but evenly towards her room, indicating that she did possibly know all of those things.

The ratchet asked again.

Did she?

And as I checked the torque on the nut I had to shake my head at myself. Because if she did then that meant she'd denied my question before I even had the chance to ask it. And if she was trying to stop things before they started then it would make sense for her to run away at the first sign of my stupidity. Perhaps I'd been misreading her intentions. The warm smiles and the winks over her shoulder, the gentle tug of her hand on mine when I'd fallen asleep at my desk again to softly lead my still-closed eyes towards the comfort of my nest. And the careful way she would tuck the blanket over my shell once I'd landed in bed, too tired to even remove my bandana. Maybe I'd been interpreting everything all wrong. After all, she did all of those things for the other brothers as well, so there was no concrete evidence for the argument that she may think of me as anything other than just a friend.

One tire down, three to go. And the ratchet kept on asking.

Did she?

Did she?

Did she think of me as just a friend? The hopeful optimistic in me, probably some byproduct of hanging out too much with Michelangelo lately, kept surfacing to wave my memories in my face, insisting on being addressed. The caress of her hand over my scales when she'd slept with me in my bed, swirling ever-so-gently just as any lover might touch one another simply for the sake of touching. Unfased by the texture of keratin and boney armor, they'd skated delicately over every sensitive patch of skin I had and didn't care about how inhuman I'd felt. There was no denying the way her hand, in her sleep, had cupped my cheek and her face had buried itself contentedly into my shoulder. The fact that she'd even come to me that night rather than one of the other (stronger) brothers was difficult to push off to the side. The memory of the way she had smelled after I'd shivered at the whole-body tingling her fingernails had ingrained into my skin still made my mouth water. Her words still permeated my REM sleep cycles and haunted them like the most beautiful of ghostly specters.

Did she?

Did she?

Did she like me as more than a friend? Did I have a chance? Did she feel anything more for me than the others? If she did then... then why had she run the other night? I hadn't even opened my mouth to ask yet.

Did she?

Did she know? Maybe she hadn't known. Maybe the cumulative effects of the night were altering my perception of time. The hug hadn't been that unusually prompt. She'd said goodnight, as had I. I'd even wished her pleasant dreams. For the late hour she was probably exhausted. I had been too, except that the careful and delicate ministrations of her hands had me so worked up that sleep completely eluded me. Even just remembering them now sent a shiver up my spine and my shell tightened considerably. And the mixed blessing of having an active imagination that has the capability to run through scenarios believably in my mind flared up once again as it had frequently several times since that night.

Steadying myself against the tide of memories that washed over my body I had to brace myself against the Battle Shell with the next wave of shivers that coursed up my spine and raced back down again right into my tail. I could feel her hands on my shell, teasing over the scutes at my hips and swirling up the rim of my carapace. She'd been so careful not to dip under even once, not with one stray brush of a fingernail like I'd been praying might have happened. My cloaca started to pucker as it had then, threatening the release of my embarrassment as I fought back against the sensations once again.

But the memory wouldn't let me go. I could feel her hands swirling higher and higher, taking me with it, up until that moment of pause where her hands met at the nuchal scute. Panting, as I had been then, I waited on pins and needles. Contained in that pair of seconds was an eternity of waiting, reliving the anticipation of what else she might possibly have next in her lineup of tortures, and a small noise escaped my throat. Why now? It was the middle of the day and there was no way to inconspicuously sneak to the bathroom. That and a second shower wasn't exactly a typical behavior of mine. Maybe I could dump some oil on my plastron?

"Donnie?"

OH SHELL

Too late.

"Um, hey, I'm just, uh, over here." My expression soured at the pathetic and juvenile way my voice cracked. Of course it would be her. Of course it would be now. As Raphael would say, 'the old Turtle Luck, true to form!' I snatched up the ratchet and quickly got back to work, crouching as best as I could to make sure my swollen, tucked tail was out of sight. Hoping that she didn't notice, didn't know. And the ratchet got right back to asking its questions as I hurriedly resumed my earlier task.

Did she?

Did she?

Did she know already? Was there any way she could have known? From what I'd been able to tell based on direct observation and from my research on the matter, human noses were far less sensitive than ours. A scent that had the brothers looking around for a source didn't even garner a blink of an eye from either Casey or from Aaliyah. But the air was so thick with my scent I was almost sure that somehow she had to sense it. If I had the glands to do so I probably would have been sweating bullets, as the saying goes, but as it was I just felt overly and uncomfortably warm. And that was even before her bright smile appeared in my periphery.

"How's it coming?"

I returned her genuine smile with a nervous one of my own, quickly averting my eyes in favor of pretending I was thoroughly absorbed in my work. I felt a little bit like an ostrich putting his head into the sand, but there had to be some amount of logic to the notion that avoiding eye contact with a predator was a good idea, right? "Good. She's almost all put back together now that the brakes have been updated. Once I get these tires put back on and torqued down all that's left is to take the Battle Shell for a test drive and make sure everything's working perfectly."

Her grin took on a devious glitter and she mocked surprise at my response. "You? Actually test out something before using it in combat? Seriously? This coming from the same Donatello that jumped off of a bridge over the East River with a hand-made hang-glider to investigate a Foot-tech vibrocannon before testing it out? You must be bored out of your mind if you're actually going to test something."

The ribbing was actually doing my frazzled state of mind some good, as it gave me something to focus on while vasodilation subdued slowly and gradually released the pressure in my shell. "Ha ha, very funny. Wrong Donatello, by the way. And yes, I would like to test out the Battle Shell once on the road since this is the brakes we're talking about. That, and it gives me a chance to get out before I have to hear Michelangelo ask AGAIN if we're going to see the Fourth of July fireworks tomorrow night."

"Aha! So the truth comes out!" She triumphantly accused and I just shook my head. "Just be careful. Literally almost every time a Donnie suggests testing out a new invention, it's almost guaranteed that there's going to be trouble associated with it. You could bet your goggles on it."

"Is that a new universal law we should add to the books? I'm sure my name would look so fitting between Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton." I asked sarcastically. The strange workings of her mind were an enigma to me sometimes, though there had to be something said about the statistical probability of her predictions coming true no matter how outlandish they sounded.

"Pffft, no, clearly you'd be with Kepler and Hubble. Come on, timelines Donnie. It may be a foundational law of this universe but you're not THAT old. They'd put you next to the new photos of Pluto that they just got back. With it's cute little heart shape your picture would look perfect next to it. Subliminal messaging at it's finest!"

I snorted. "What, you mean that just like Pluto's recent reclassification as a Dwarf Planet I'm not actually as lame as most people think I am?" My self-deprecating laughter died almost immediately at the disapproving glare Aaliyah shot my direction.

"No. Not funny." Then softening in a way that made my heart roll around in my chest, she added, "I mean that you're actually adorable and definitely the worth the required added time and effort to get to know you. You may have started out as just a pinprick in an infinite universe but you're an important part of this solar system too and recent evidence definitely suggests that you're the cute one of the bunch." The wink that followed had my stomach flip flopping as well and I had no intelligent response to give other than to stare agape at her. "But I dunno, more research might be required before we can add that to our Wikipedia list of confirmed characteristics."

I hated the feeling of my mental gears spinning with no traction but there I was with nothing. She was trying to be witty and banter with me and I had nothing. Stammering through a thank you was all I could physically manage before my brain quit on me entirely and refused to offer any further assistance to my plight. Maybe if it had then I wouldn't have opened my big mouth again, but sadly that was exactly what I did.

"Wouldyouliketocomewithme?" The question came out far louder and faster than I could have ever rationally intended, if I'd ever intended for it to come out at all. She blinked at me rapidly in surprise, a reaction my traction-less mind mistook for misunderstanding. "To the surface? To test the Battle Shell? I, uh, I know it's been a while since you were up top. You've... You're probably anxious for a little fresh air... and stuff..." Finishing lamely under the scrutinizing eye of the beautiful woman standing over me I wanted to shrink under the distinct feeling of being judged. She was weighing my heart, I could almost feel it teetering delicately in the ancient Egyptian balance I'd seen depicted in hieroglyphics, and judging my character all at once. I had half of a mind to bow my head respectfully under that all-seeing gaze.

Her silent pondering turned to the vehicle and it was as though a literal weight was lifted from my shell, though the sad expression I watched creep into her eyes tugged heavily on my chest. "It... would be nice to get out..." Then that omniscient pair of strikingly blue eyes turned back to me and I could already read the apology in them. "But I can't. I'm sorry. I told Leonardo that I'd help him scrub down the dojo in a bit and I don't want him thinking I skipped out on him."

Already I was snatching at straws and I didn't care. "It would just be quick. A couple of times around the block, maybe one exit on the highway to test them at higher speeds, and then we'd be right back." I nearly attached a 'please' to the end of my explanation but snapped my jaw shut before it could tumble out. I was practically begging as it was, there was no need to make it any more obvious.

She hesitated. She really hesitated. "I don't know Don, it's really not safe for me up there."

I laughed. "Come on, really? You can't get anywhere safer than the Battle Shell. If 30 Tons of steel and firepower engineered to my specifications can't keep you safe then I need to hang up my tools and call it quits." Silently I started to berate myself for working so hard to convince her to get out of the lair with me. It would only be maybe 15 minutes at the most. Even if I was going to try for her affections the amount of time it would take to complete this outing was inconsequential. There was no logical reason-

"Well... ok. But only just to test out the brakes."

And it was all I could do to keep from whooping excitedly like Michelangelo, the grin on my face doing all the talking for me. "Great! I'll go get the keys and-"

"Don... the tires?"

I practically gave myself whiplash with how quickly I jerked my head back to look at my half-finished project. Ah shell. "Oh... right... heh, uh, lemme just finish this up quickly and THEN we can go!"

Her merry laugh warmed my darkening face even further and she shook her head at me. Yep, I'd definitely made a fool out of myself, but I was making progress. "Alright, I'll just let Leo know where we're headed and then I'll come give you a hand. Maybe if we hurry we can avoid whatever trouble would be headed our way according to Donnie's Law."

I called after her retreating form, "Ha ha, Still not funny! How about we make Donnie's Law something a little more pleasant? Huh?"

From the other side of the vehicle she called back, "I just call 'em like I see 'em! When you stop being a trouble magnet then we'll change it."

My face puckered indignantly at that comment. I wasn't a trouble magnet. I was the sensible turtle! Since when did I ever attract trouble? Fitting my headphones over my head I flicked through my music selection and picked a playlist to keep the worst of the memories at bay.

Ok, so there may have been a few circumstantial and highly coincidental events that had happened over the past few years. After all, how was I supposed to know that an entire subdivision of the Purple Dragons were going to be at that junkyard? And it wasn't like I'd asked to come upon that Foot robbery at the museum the... three... four times that it had happened. ... Ok so maybe she had a point BUT it wasn't my fault! I usually got us OUT of the scrapes that we got into! So that kind of negated the ones that I'd inadvertently gotten us in, right? Yeah, that sounded like sound logic. I wasn't reckless like Raphael. Just... trusting in my own workmanship and careful calculations. Who needs to test things out in the field when they perform as calculated in the lab? That was just wasteful of precious resources.

And maybe I liked the rush. The thrill of anticipation, not truly knowing but having confidence that it would work. That split second between pressing the lever or switch when the mechanism what firing off and the world seems to pause at the fleeting chance that it might fail? That's where I really lived. The never knowing with 100% confidence that it would definitely work. That .01% chance that things might go wrong but then the absolute joy of being proven right again was breathtaking.

… Ok so maybe I was a bit of a trouble magnet. But that didn't mean I was guaranteed to get into trouble tonight! … Right? And with the torquing of the last lugnut on the second tire the ratchet squawked it's question at me again impatiently to the beat of the music I had pounding through my head.

Did she?

Did she know something that I didn't? Usually this was a rhetorical question that hardly needed answering. Of course she did. She always did. So why was I questioning it now? Should I have trusted her initial decline? What if she was right and there was some universal law that dictated (for some unfair reason) that any testing of mine was bound to draw trouble? Was I putting her into harm's way by insisting that she come with me? And why did I even insist that she come? I liked my solitude. I liked my alone time. Getting to go above ground was a treat, but getting to do so alone where it was quiet was an especially fortuitous event. Was I making a mistake? Had I just gotten caught up in the flattery and the banter?

Did she?

Did she?

And did she really mean what she'd said? Aaliyah wasn't really one to mince words unless under duress. And I hadn't felt like she'd been feeling pressured. Usually when she was feeling stressed her eyes would look down while she listened and then she would look pointedly into the stressor's eyes while speaking. There was a pattern she followed, and she hadn't done those things. Her tone was light and her words had certainly sounded sincere. So did she really mean it?

Did she?

And if she did then why had she been so avoidant? Why not just come right out and say that she just needed to be back in time to help Leonardo? Why bring up the danger of going above ground? And really what danger was there even IN just going above ground for a drive? If she'd been so sincere then why backtrack with excuses? Maybe I was misinterpreting things again? Was I really so bad at understanding her intentions? Would it be stupid of me to... just... ask? I just needed some answers! The not knowing was driving me to distraction. It wasn't like she'd ever denied any of us an answer before. I'd heard her answer some rather inappropriate questions of Michelangelo's before, all with a calm and professional demeanor. I probably would have smacked him for a few of them, to be perfectly honest. But not Aaliyah. She cared too much to take offense, understood too deeply. She always understood, always knew.

So then did she know now? Did she know already how I was feeling? If she knew then it would only follow logically that she was waiting patiently for me to come to her rather than addressing this situation the other way around. But how could she know when I didn't even really know myself? Of course there were some foundational feelings that I could acknowledge. All of us considered her beautiful and benevolent, sometimes bashful but badass in her own confident way. I appreciated her. Cared about her like we all did. We all loved her, that much was certain, much the same way we all loved each other and yet it was it's own emotion entirely. But additional to this fundamental kind of love and appreciation that we all could share there was something uncertain and tentative, yet tenacious and persistent. Like a bite from a mosquito. The more the itch was scratched, the better the itching of it felt and yet the more nagging and noticeable the itch became.

The bombardment of questions from the damned ratchet were interrupted as I was nearly half way through the third tire when Aaliyah returned, now wearing her shoes and her hair had been pulled up a little bit on the top while some of her hair hung down underneath the layer that had been drawn into the partial updo. I never would understand her insistence, much like Raphael, that going without shoes was preferable. The only pair of solutions that I'd been able to figure out were that she liked being silent as she padded around the lair and that she enjoyed the feeling of the concrete beneath her feet. However, in my personal opinion the potential danger of being without foot covering far outweighed any kind of tactile comfort possibly drawn from going without shoes.

… I couldn't deny the visual aesthetic of seeing her stretch up on her little pink toes though. The way they curled when she became excited, the splay of them in the dojo during the balancing exercises she was working on with Sensei, the way she would occasionally use them as prehensile tools to pick up objects for fun while her tongue stuck out between her lips in concentration, the way they would point just as she was jumping to reach something that had been placed too high on a shelf... Obviously it was not my place to tell her one way or another what she should and should not do with her footwear. So I said nothing on the matter.

Her lips started moving and I dropped my headphones back around my neck to be able to hear what she was saying. "-ack. Sorry, Mikey ran off with my brush and was using it on some Troll doll he'd found. You didn't finish already did you?" She asked upon approaching my side of the Battle Shell.

"Nope, just finishing though. I'll just be another minute and then we can take her out for a spin." I responded, doubling my pace. "I'll be quick."

"Psh. I've changed tires before. I can help." She retorted with a slight scoff and went to my toolbox to find the appropriate tools for the job. The ones that I had in my hands.

"I only have the one ratchet set though..." I warned her, hoping to catch her before she spent too much fruitless time looking for something that wasn't there.

"Oh, alright. Well what else can I do?" Her smile appeared by my side and for an unexplainable reason my whole body tensed up at her proximity and my gut fluttered.

"Nothing. It'll just be another minute. I'm almost done." My reassurance didn't put her at ease like I had hoped it would. Her face instead fell just barely and she nodded at me once before disappearing from view. Surprisingly, that did little to calm my nerves. Without being able to see or hear her I had no way of knowing exactly what she was doing, and the anticipation for something to happen was torture.

"How's your shoulder?" She asked somewhat suddenly from the general area of where I'd left my rolling stool. I rolled it a little bit to test it and gage how to best answer her question. To be perfectly honest it almost always was sore despite my own personal attempts to knead the muscles into submission. But if I mentioned that it was sore then it might be taken as an attempt to con her into working on it again. However, simply shrugging off the question would immediately be seen as giving false information and then I'd be in trouble for being dishonest. There had to be some kind of middle ground option...

"Same as always. But, better since the last couple of days. Thank you for that, by the way."

"You're welcome. Sorry I haven't had a spare minute to finish what I started. It's movie night tonight so maybe I can work on it for a bit then, if you want." She replied casually and I nodded through the final lugnut on that third wheel.

"Sure, if you want." I parroted back, shifting to the last wheel.

"BAAAAAAAAAAABYCAKES!" Michelangelo's shouting reverberated through the whole space, announcing his arrival. I couldn't help the groan that answered him back, but it did make Aaliyah laugh.

"Over here Mikey. What's up?" She answered him for me, and the streak of orange that shot by me nearly knocked me off balance.

" 'liyah, I need your help!" He started urgently, and a surreptitious glance over my shoulder showed him eagerly bouncing and holding her hands. "I just realized that I don't know how to kiss somebody! Ya gotta help me practice so when I meet someone I'll totally be prepared!"

Her laughter covered the snarl and the string of curses I muttered under my breath at my brother, and she responded to his ridiculous and frankly disrespectful request before I could give him a proper tongue lashing. "Mikey, we've talked about this already. I can't. First kisses are something special you give to someone you care about. Something memorable that you can keep forever. If I practice with you then I'm taking away something that I can't give back."

He whined at her and snuggled up to her like a puppy begging for a treat, and despite every piece of me that wanted to grab him by his shell and drag him to the Hashi there was a perverse part of my curiosity that held me rooted in place. They'd talked about this before? When was this? Where was I? "But 'liyah, it wouldn't really count! It'd be just like sparring! Just cause you practice in the dojo doesn't mean it's your first real fight! That's totally different!"

She snorted at him and I desperately wished that I could have turned around to see the expression she was giving him but couldn't do so without being obvious in my intentions. And there was something about being a proverbial fly on the wall at that moment that was far too captivating to risk missing the end of this conversation so foolishly.

"Michelangelo, kissing is not like sparring. And if it is then you are Definitely doing it wrong."

"Well yeah, but you know what I mean. Please baby girl? This is really important! There's this hottie I've been seeing around and it's gonna be hard enough to talk to her, I just don't wanna blow it if she goes in for the Big One! Ya gotta help me out!"

"Have you tried kissing a peach? If you can make out with a peach without bruising it then you're on the right track."

"… Yeah but then I ate it. Come on baby girl, I need somebody to give me some pointers! It's not like I could ask Leo or Raph! Even Sensei's never really kissed anybody before! Pleeeeease?"

There was a stretch of silence again and I absolutely had to look. Carefully I looked over my shoulder again and found Michelangelo with his hands clasped in front of him, eyes wide and watery, while Aaliyah surveyed him with that same thoughtful expression of judgment that she'd given to me earlier. The silence seemed to echo through the room and my chest burned at the realization that she very well may actually grant his request. I couldn't let that happen.

"Ok, but I'm not taking your first kiss away from you. Show me your pucker." Roaring to action I quickly whipped around and hurried over. Mikey was puckering his lips comically and Aaliyah was shaking her head at him. Catching my thunderous expression, however, she smoothly stepped just to the side and pointed her finger at me. "Donnie. Come here and tell me what you see."

"Mikey making an idiot of himself." I snapped sourly, perhaps with a little bit more acid to my tone than was entirely necessary for the question.

Michelangelo's face fell and he scowled a little through his pooched lips. "That's just cold bro."

"And unhelpful." Aaliyah reproached, but the sting of her scathing look didn't have the same effect as usual with the gravity of this situation armoring my resolve. "It's too forced. Too stiff. You're going to poke her eye out with that kind of a pucker. Try this instead. Say the word "You" but pause on the letter u."

Mikey did as he was told, eyebrows scrunched in concentration. His lips now forming a soft "o" shape, she nodded at him and pressed on his lips with her finger. "See that? See how there's still some give? That's what you want. You want pressure, but just a little bit of it. You also are going to want your mouth mostly closed or else you might accidentally swallow her whole. Because no offense, but you guys have really big mouths. And _**no tongue**_, you understand me?" She bopped his nose with her fingertip sternly and he nodded as she continued. "_No tongue_ on the first kiss. Not unless she asks for it."

"But how am I gonna know if she's asking for it? How long do I kiss her for?" Mikey asked, wiggling with worry. Her face turned pensive again and, while my temper had calmed some by now, she carefully surveyed the two of us as though deciding how best to answer the question so that nobody got hurt.

"Ok. Think of it like this. A kiss is a question. When you lean in to kiss her, you're asking that question. And the answer to that question is 'you.' Sometimes when you say you it's fast, sometimes it's slow. But if you'd feel awkward about holding out that 'you' for as long as you're holding the kiss, it's probably too long. Instead, just keep answering her question. There's no limit to the number of times you can tell her that the answer is 'you.' That, and if you literally mouth the word 'you' it's a pretty good starting point for a good kiss. Listen to how fast, how hard, how soft, or how slow she wants you to answer that question with your mouth, and you'll be in great shape. And just like when you go sparring, you have to watch for queues from your partner. If Donnie swings left, you don't just stand there, and you also don't swing left. You move with, without mirroring. Maybe you duck, maybe you punch. It all depends on the situation. So just pay attention to what she's doing and be adaptable."

And suddenly all of the anger I'd been feeling at Michelangelo vaporized when he looked up at me with a smirk. The mischievous way his eyes glittered knowingly suddenly had me disarmed with realization. He really didn't have a girl he had his eye on. He was asking for me. In a roundabout way he'd just had Aaliyah give the both of us advice on … I turned to look at her with wide eyes, and Mikey did the same. He enthusiastically thanked her for the lesson and hugged her tightly, spinning her around while I collected myself.

And hurriedly turning back to the fourth tire that still needed to be finished, working with new urgency and enthusiasm, I couldn't help but silently mouth the word 'you' to myself a couple of times while the ratchet noisily rattled out its question again and again.

Did she?

Did she?

Did she?


	16. Date

**This Chapter is going to be in Third Person rather than from either Donnie or Aaliyah's perspective. Now that we all have a good idea of what's going on inside the character's heads, stepping back to view the next series of events from an outside perspective feels necessary. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Once the wheels were securely attached to the Battle Shell Donatello excused himself from the garage under the pretext of grabbing the keys he'd left in his room. Mikey and Aaliyah waved at him while continuing their conversation without pause, allowing him the opportunity to slip out without issue. But rather than heading to his room Don headed immediately for the dojo. It was easy to find Leonardo who was setting up his buckets and scrub brushes for the impending cleaning. "Hey! Leo! Uh... can I ask you a favor?"

The leader dropped his tools and clapped his hands together to clean them a little as he turned to face the nervous-looking engineer. "What's up?"

Donatello noted that Leo hadn't agreed to anything just yet, so he took a deep breath and looked around uncomfortably. "Ah... You wouldn't be too upset if I borrowed Aaliyah, would you?" Leonardo looked at his brother suspiciously, as she had already come and mentioned that Don wanted to take her along for the test drive of the Battle Shell.

"You mean for more than just the 15 minutes you told her that it would take to test out the brakes?"

Donnie nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just... I thought that... since it's such a nice night and she doesn't get out much... I just didn't want you to worry. And maybe you could either postpone cleaning until tomorrow or you could let her off the hook for a night?" He looked at Leonardo hopefully, grinning and showing his excitement just a little bit. The blue-banded ninja just shook his head and chuckled.

"Good luck. You know she's not going to like being up there too long. Especially if you haven't told her already that you're planning on making a date of it." He chuckled, making Don start and quickly backtrack a step with his hands up defensively.

"No no nononono, it's … it's not a date. I mean... it could be a date... but it won't be. Not unless she calls it a date, at least. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to calling this outing a date. But it's not. It's just... An outing. Between friends. We're just friends, and we'll just be seeing the sights of the city and maybe going down to the bay for a bit. I hadn't really thought that far ahead just yet but I'm working on it."

Leonardo gave him a serious look and put his hands on his hips. "You do realize this is a bad idea, right?"

Donatello's head ducked in a sheepish grin and his shoulders raised in a shrug as he turned, satisfied that he had as much of Leonardo's approval as he was going to get. "I've got to try, don't I?" He retreated back towards the garage as Leo's voice called after him.

"Call us if you run into trouble!"

But the genius just rolled his eyes and scurried along quickly until he was back to where he needed to be. And Mikey was cuddling Aaliyah! His earlier temper with his youngest brother flaring he marched over to his rolling chair where Mikey had taken up residence with Aaliyah on his lap. "Alright, I'm ready to go."

Mikey smiled over his shoulder at Donnie but squeaked in fright at seeing his brother's dark expression. "It's all you babygirl! Betcha a smooch would turn that frown upside down!"

"Mikey!" Donnie warned as Michelangelo slipped out of the chair and began retreating backwards with surprising agility considering he had his eyes trained on the immediate threat to his safety rather than on the surroundings.

"Have fun on your date! Don't do anything Sensei wouldn't wanna watch!" He called over quickly as he turned tail and streaked out of the garage. Don shouted after him, stomping a few paces after the retreating oval of Mikey's colorful shell. But at the sound of Aaliyah's snickering turned and ducked his head, immediately contrite and excited again.

"I-I swear I didn't tell him that it was a date. That would be inappropriate and presumptuous and I would never tell them we were going on a date. NOT that I wouldn't ever GO on a date, with you that is, I just... I mean... we're just friends and we're just going out for a bit. N-not OUT-out as in 'going out'. Just out. Out meaning outside, though technically we're still going to be inside so by 'outside' I mean 'inside' the vehicle but 'outside' the sewers." Feeling like this was already a miserable disaster he made a noise that fell somewhere between a groan and a whimper, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. But Aaliyah just giggled warmly and closed the gap between them, taking his free hand and tugging him towards the truck.

"Come on, smart guy. I know what you mean."

Donatello sighed in relief and then started, suddenly remembering his manners. Luckily it was in time for him to scuttle past and reach for the door handle so he could open the door for her, and he offered his hand to help her inside. The endearing grin she gave him set the flock of butterflies alight in his stomach again. And then she took his hand, warm skin against cool callouses, and up she went into the heavily modified garbage truck. She looked so much smaller, daintier, and more feminine than ever encased by the heavily armored vehicle, and he couldn't help but stare while closing the door for her. 'Royalty among the rubble' came to his mind briefly before recognizing that he'd been unmoving for three seconds too long and scurried around the vehicle to climb into the driver's seat.

Surreptitiously they both watched each other out of their periphery while the enormous Diesel engine roared to life and the truck backed out of the abandoned warehouse garage above the lair. Silence stretched awkwardly between them and while Aaliyah wasn't phased by it, sighing contentedly at finally having a little peace and quiet, it grated on Donnie's nerves and started to make him anxious.

Out of the desperate need to fill the void that he'd endured for a full 60 seconds he cleared his throat and chanced a glance at the serene face gracing his passenger seat. "So, uh, I was thinking."

"M-hm."

"Since we're out here, and it Has been a while since you've been outside… And I don't want you catching cabin fever or feeling too unnecessarily cooped up… There's a place down by the bay that we've been to a couple of times in the past few years that's safe and secluded and it has a nice view of the city. So I was thinking that maybe, and of course you can say no if you're not comfortable but I swear I will keep you safe and nothing bad will happen, but maybe we could visit? That spot? You know, just for a bit?"

Aaliyah didn't respond right away, choosing instead to roll the proposition around in her head. There were pros and there were cons to consider, and she hummed thoughtfully once as she did so to let Donatello know that she had in fact heard him. Not that it did much in particular to calm his nerves, especially when Aaliyah took her time to consider all of the possible outcomes carefully. Finally, once Don made it to the freeway and got up to speed, Aaliyah narrowed her possible courses of action down to two and opened her mouth to speak.

"We can go only if you've already completed everything you were planning on taking care of tonight. I don't want to take you away from your work simply for the sake of a change in scenery."

Donnie relaxed slightly while Aaliyah's posture remained straight and refined. Truth be told he did have a few little things he had been planning on finishing up but since there was nothing urgently pressing that needed to be done at the moment, he decided that a little white lie couldn't hurt. "Nope, this was it. Just the brakes."

She turned her head and narrowed her eyes at his stiff manner of speech, the halting between his words, that easily gave him away. "You're a terrible liar, you know that right?"

Stiffening up again he signaled to get off at the next exit and huffed unhappily. "I am not! Ok, so maybe there were a couple little things I'd considered doing tonight before whatever monster movie Mikey was planning on watching tonight but this was the only big thing. Leo's fried the toaster again and Raph found an old Nintendo 64 he wanted me to crack open and see if it was salvageable. Nothing major. So technically it wasn't a lie."

"Bending the truth still counts as a lie, Donatello. And you shouldn't have to lie to me." She responded with surprising gentleness to her tone that speared him right through his heart. He glanced over to see her looking out her window with a disappointed look in her eye and he almost stopped right there on the off ramp, except that there were other cars behind and the last thing he needed was to draw unnecessary attention to himself.

"Aaliyah, I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I shouldn't have been dishonest, that was wrong of me. I rationalized that failing to mention a couple of little projects was worth getting to hang out with you for a while." He apologized, subconsciously curling in on himself in shame. Berating his stupidity and deciding that it would be best to quit while he was behind for the night he mentally started calculating the most direct route home. But then there was a warm hand on his elbow and he glanced over at his passenger.

"Don, your integrity is worth more than that." She was looking at him reproachfully and even if he hadn't had a 30 ton vehicle to commandeer he couldn't have looked at it for longer than a glance or two anyways.

"I know. I'm really sorry. I promise it won't happen again."

"You swear?"

"I swear."

"Cross your heart?"

"Cross my heart."

But upon completing the perhaps juvenile action over his left pectoral scute Aaliayh's stern demeanor lifted and she settled back into her chair comfortably. "And you really did only have those two things planned for tonight other than testing out the brakes?"

He didn't dare get his hopes up too high but his optimistic streak already had him praying that this was headed somewhere other than the homeward direction he was pointed. "I really did only have those two things on my desk for tonight. I didn't want to plan too much or else risk Michelangelo's wrath."

There was a pause once again for pondering, Donnie holding his breath without realizing it and subtly he started to smile in the hopes that just maybe the night could still be salvaged. "Well... neither of those sound too terribly awful to put on the backburner for one night... Alright. But only for a little bit. I did tell Leo that I'd still help him clean the dojo."

Donnie's lungs deflated in a rush of enthusiasm and he laughed at his incredible luck. "Oh don't worry. I already spoke with Leonardo."

Aaliyah snorted and she shifted in her seat to face him more fully, flashing her teeth at him in a grin even he could see in his periphery. "Donatello Hamato! You did not!"

Smiling in spite of himself he turned to redirect the vehicle towards the bay. "He said he was ok with letting you off the hook for tonight, though I'm not entirely sure if that means he's going to wait until tomorrow to scrub it down or if that means he's going to go ahead without you."

She muttered 'unbelievable' under her breath but there was no frustration to her tone, giving Donatello the courage to start telling her about the place while they drove through town to the designated location. They arrived without incident and Donnie parked the truck inconspicuously in a dark corner of a nearby parking lot. The walk through the tall grass was only about 50 yards but they kept quiet during the short journey and strode quickly just in case there was anyone around that happened to be looking their direction. Extending his hand again he helped her down the grassy embankment to a thick slab of concrete jutting out of the water nearby the bridge that extended out over the bay. Once she was settled he stepped around and perched himself a couple of respectful feet away and shifted to find a comfortable resting position.

There was silence between them underscored by the quiet lapping of the water's edge and he did really try to keep his eyes trained on the water. But curiosity getting the better of him, it only took about 30 seconds to crack his resolve and he looked to his side, hoping to catch a glimpse of how the reflected lights of the city danced in her eyes. Surprisingly, however, she was already looking at him and made no sudden movements to look away when he met her eye.

"Donnie, I don't bite. Ok, well, I DO bite, but I Won't bite if you'd like to be less than a full arm's length away. Makes me feel like I've got a cold or something you're trying not to catch." Her tone was even and unassuming, but the way she looked at him through her lashes turned his mouth into a desert. He scooted exactly 12 inches closer, making Aaliyah huff in amusement and she closed the gap between them of her own accord. Thankful for the darkness that masked just how deep of a green he was blushing he froze in place perfectly, fearful that if he moved so much as a 16th of an inch she might realize her foot was resting against his knee and her shoulder was nudging his bicep.

More out of nerves than any real need to check for impending danger he carefully lifted his hand opposite of her towards his goggles and settled them down over his glasses, switching them to night vision mode. The dark and watery scenery before him flickered into green relief and showed several boats out on the water, the wave heights out on the bay, and even a couple of bats flitting by on their way to find an evening meal. It was calm and serene and safe in the monochrome of his assisted field of vision, but it did little to ease his growing nerves at the lingering and piercing silence that rang loudly in his head.

Then there was a shift and a noise of displeasure from Aaliyah, quickly drawing Donatello's attention. However the surprised jerk of his head towards his friend was immediately followed by a jerk away once he caught sight of her hand reaching for the goggles. "Eep! Hey! What-?"

Her eyes widened in equal surprise at being so suddenly denied but then narrowed competitively and she grinned with catlike and predatory intent. Without thinking she locked onto his eyes with her own and crawled into his lap, giving her the element of shock to work with and the freeze in motion to grab the goggles and carefully peel them off of his glasses. "Donatello, we're out here to enjoy the beauty of the bay. You can't do that if you're being distracted by your tech." He sputtered a little at the intimate position, shrinking self consciously as her face puckered unhappily. "And you're certainly never going to see anything with your glasses so filthy. Here."

She plucked the spectacles from his face, earning her a squawk of protest but she simply batted his hands away. When he continued to try to grab for his glasses she hissed at him, further stunning him into submission. "Did... did you just hiss at me?"

"I'm just cleaning your glasses and you're acting like I'm trying to break them. Sheesh. You know I did use to have glasses in my last lifetime. And you know what I found? I found that the material that men's clothing is made from is NOT soft. Women's clothing is made from much softer cloth, and therefore is superior for cleaning glasses like these." She held them up carefully to peer through them, Donatello squinting so that his eyes were mere slits while he watched her work. Unsatisfied, she scrubbed at them again and paid closer attention to the rims.

"I didn't know that." He replied after a second of admiring the pucker of her lips in concentration and the crinkle of her forehead. She glanced up and paused, her protective hunch uncoiling, and he almost reached for his glasses again so he could see her more clearly. He wanted to be able to get lost in those eyes that seemed to pierce through the very heart of him, guarded and protected as it was. But as it was he could only make out the fuzzy, dark patches where he eyes were and the halo of light that was reflecting off of her strawberry blonde hair.

"Would you do something for me?" She asked cautiously, and he nodded quickly before even caring to find out what it was.

"Of course."

Then she hooked his glasses on her shirt and reached up to smooth out the wrinkling between his eyebrows caused by his vain attempts to gain some visual clarity. "Relax. Open your eyes a little more. I'd like to see what you look like without your glasses. If that's ok, that is."

He nodded again and swallowed thickly, fighting his body's natural instincts to see as clearly as possible with some considerable effort. The next breath that Aaliyah took was deeper than the ones previous, and he couldn't decide if it was more likely to be a good sign or a bad sign. Not that it particularly mattered much once he felt her fingers trace over the edge of his mask and her eyes followed. He leaned forward just a little, anxious to see whether or not her expression was more intrigued or repulsed, surprised once again when the action started Aaliyah's head shaking 'no.'

"I'm not going to ask you to take your mask off. I know that it's a part of your identity and you don't like to be without it. But you should know that I love your eyes. They remind me of a lion or an eagle, or maybe amber." She complimented, admiring them shyly before looking down and removing his newly-cleaned spectacles and offering them back to him. He took them with a little 'oh' and a jump but paused before putting them back on. If he put them on, then the game was over. And despite the inconvenience of reduced sight, the prospect of enjoying a little bit more time with such a beautiful lap warmer was even more tantalizing.

Lifting his head he shifted uncertainly beneath her and put his glasses just off to the side with his heart in his throat. "Um... it's... just a piece of fabric. You can take it off... if- if you want."

Aaliyah regarded him with a slight turn of her head to the size and a carefully neutral expression. "Really? Are you sure?" He nodded again, but she wasn't quite convinced. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable." She plucked up his glasses from where Donnie had set them, replacing them on her shirt to ensure that nothing accidentally happened to them. There were any number of possibilities of things that could knock those glasses into the water and if she had to go swimming to find them she was not going to be happy.

Now Donatello's turn to shake his head he moved to remove the mask himself but, still hoping that maybe she would take it off for him (a secret romantic dream that he'd had stashed away in the dark and dusty places of his heart,) masked the twitch by placing his hand on her hip. "No, it's ok. You can, if you want."

She didn't move right away, taking her time to weigh his words, but slowly she leaned in and reached around behind him. Her nails dragged up the back of his head to the knot in his bandana and he swallowed thickly at just how close her face was to his. For one moment she was close enough that he COULD see, the butterflies spooked into taking flight again, and then the mask was being lifted from his face and his eyes flicked closed of their own protective volition.

When they opened again she was back to being a blur that filled his view and his hands itched to take back his glasses so he could see her expression. See if she was as repulsed by his naked face as his nightmares had convinced him she might be. But to reach for those glasses would be to reach for where they perched on her shirt, and the proximity to that which was strictly off limits was enough of a deterrent to keep his hands firmly planted where they were on her hips.

Aaliyah's hands, however, lifted from where they'd been carefully setting his mask in her lap. Eyes taking in every new detail, her fingers strove to trace these new discoveries into her memory. He held very still for this quiet exploration, eyes fluttering closed when her palm cupped his cheek. Unable to bear keeping her opinions to herself any longer, she hummed a little chuckle and hooked her other fingers around the back of his neck. "Awww. You're adorable when you do that."

He blushed again and shrank under the weight of her compliment but she would have none of his motions to pull free from her grip. "No no, I'm not done yet. This may be my only chance to see you like this and I need to commit it to memory. Hmmm."

Playfully she slipped her fingers under his chin and lifted it up, guiding him to turn his face to either side slowly. "Why would you need to commit it to memory?" He asked innocently, and she smiled mischievously in response.

"No reason. You know, you look so much like Leonardo like this. You have such similar facial structures. Strong jaw lines, narrow lips, tall brow, square-ish bases, an actual beak structure-"

"Excuse me? Beak structure?" He asked, starting out of her grip. But she only shrugged non-commitally and nodded.

"Well yeah. Mikey has more of a human-like nose than the rest of you, and Leonardo definitely has the most pronounced beak. Raphael has an f.l.a.t. flat face. You are somewhere in between. You definitely don't have as pronounced of a muzzle as Leo, but you have far more structure than Raphael. And the human part of your nose isn't as defined as with Michelangelo." Her fingers went back to exploring his face, this time with the intent of explaining her findings. Her fingers traced the shapes she described smoothly and carefully, but with enough force that it didn't tickle.

"You see, here would be where your beak would start if you were fully terrapin. Just under your eyes. Then it would jut out and give you a definite muzzle slash beak. Mikey's face itself is pretty flat too but visually you don't notice it because here there's more cartilage to make a more human-like nose shape and his VERY wide, round cheeks. Now you don't have as much of a human-shaped nose but you do have a definite muzzle for your glasses to sit on. Leo's face is difficult because he has all of these really strong shapes. Large eyebrow muscles that jut out over his eyes, a very curved and poignant beak (comparatively speaking of course) and very round, pronounced cheekbones. Your face looks younger because of your rounder cheeks, your less defined muzzle, softer structures for your eye ridges, wider eyes, etc. But out of all of the other brothers you definitely bear the strongest resemblance to Leonardo."

Donatello blinked through the surprisingly detailed explanation, having never heard a description of his facial features like that before. And not one of those descriptions was inherently negative either. There hadn't been one mention of his skin color or his scales or anything that he was self conscious about. There was just one thing left to ease his mind about the exchange they were having. "Could I have my glasses back? I want to be able to see what you're describing."

She squeaked in surprise, almost having forgotten already that he was very much left blind without his glasses, and quickly unclipped them from where they hung between her breasts. Toungue poking out between her lips she carefully slipped them back onto his face. Donnie's three fingered hand snaked up between the two of them and pushed them into their proper place so that he could finally look down on her where she remained perched in his lap clearly.

She then explained it all over again, nearly verbatim, speaking as much with her hands as with her mouth. He watched her animated gestures and soaked in her presence as happily as if she was the sun herself, his insides glowing warmly with how engaged she was in this discussion. She was describing him the way an artist might describe a sculpture and each carving motion that had been done to create it, every design detail that had been carefully thought through and planned before the medium had even been purchased. But if there was one thing Donatello was absolutely sure of, it was that he was no piece of artwork. And yet somehow Aaliyah's careful analysis, the flittering warmth of her hands, the affectionate crinkle of her eyes, it all made him feel like questioning everything he'd ever thought about himself.

"Don? Earth to Don? This is Houston, come in Don."

Jarred from his thoughts he jumped a little and ducked his head sheepishly. Brain spinning to catch up with the last thing it had heard he finally remembered being asked if he wanted his mask back. "What? Oh, uh... no. You can keep it. I mean, for a minute. Unless you'd prefer I put it back on."

She smiled knowingly and his stomach did a backflip at it. "Alright then." She flipped it over her head and settled the mask like a favored necklace over her bosom, smoothing the tails down carefully so they lay straight and flat. Before he could run the words through his mental filter he found himself already babbling at the stunning sight before him.

"You look really beautiful in purple. It s-suits you." He stumbled over his words a bit when he realized what he was saying and already he started scrambling together some kind of explanation. It was easy enough to see, especially with how wide and terrified his eyes became. But with her grin as warm as it was, he paused at letting more unnecessary words fall out of his mouth.

"Thank you. I'm rather fond of it myself." She replied simply, the subtle meaning behind her words reaching him, but couldn't quite make it past his self doubt and insecurity. Not fully. But daring to hope that maybe it was possible, emboldened by her place atop his thighs and the sight of her so possessively adorned, his eyes dropped down to her lips and back up to her eyes again. The unspoken message fluttered between them like the bats over their heads until for some unsaid reason Aaliyah's eyes lost their sly twinkle and she became carefully pragmatic once again. Her back straightened, her chin lifted, and she lifted herself out of Donnie's lap to return to looking out at the lights shimmering on the bay.

"I think blue brings out my eyes a little more, which is why back home I owned so much of it but before I died I started getting a little more adventurous with my color selections. I actually found that yellow tends to bring out my golden undertones in my skin and since it's a complementary color to blue it brings out my eyes just as well. I look fairly decent in red, not stellar but passable at least. I had a lot of purple jackets that I bought in college because it was the school color and I really liked them. When I see purple I think of those big comfy jackets, all warm and snuggly. I had some green too, but they tended to change my eye color. Not that there's anything inherently wrong in that but I really do like my blue eyes. It's weird looking into the mirror and seeing them green."

Donatello swallowed and he nodded absentmindedly, brow crinkling as his thoughts turned towards analyzing what had just happened and what might have possibly caused the change between them. Why was there a wall there now? "Mm. I can imagine. I don't think I've ever observed a color change in mine, but Leonardo's and Michelangelo's will change from time to time. The lack of pigmentation in blue eyes lends itself to frequent color changes due to reflecting the pigments from surrounding materials."

"That's true." Aaliyah agreed, freshly determined to keep this interaction friendly and casual. She'd gotten carried away by the night and the scenery and the rare opportunity to be alone, truly alone, with the turtle by her side and she wasn't going to let it happen again. For his sake. "Biology is so fascinating. I wish I would have taken more of it in college. But I was pretty determined to get in and out as quickly as I could. It's expensive and I didn't feel like taking extra classes not related to my major was a smart idea. I needed to get out into my career and get working so I could get saving for all of the things I wanted to do with my life. Heh. It all seems pretty trivial now, honestly, but that's life I guess. What would you do if you could go to college? You seem like an engineering major... aaaaand a computer tech double major?"

Still distracted he grinned and glanced over at her. "Heh, yeah, something like that. If I could go to a university I'm not sure I'd ever leave. There's just so much to learn, so much to do! I mean... just think of all of the things that still have yet to be discovered! Think of what I could bring to the scientific community! And that's with no formal education, no resources, not one single dollar spent on any of the inventions I've created. If I could work for a research and development team with some real high-tech equipment... who knows what I could do."

His tone took on a sad timbre as he spoke, head bowing to watch the lapping of the water at the concrete slab they were sitting on. Aaliyah's heart pinched at it and instinctively she leaned against his arm. "You could do anything, Donatello, and I mean that. You have so much in store for you. Incredible learning experiences and you'll get to collaborate with one of the greatest minds in this universe. You don't need to go to a university to change the world. I've seen you do amazing things, here _**and**_ in my last lifetime. You are incredible and I know it's hard to have to struggle for every piece of everything you've ever learned and built and invented, but I promise you won't be stuck underground forever. You'll make it to the stars. Not even your mutation can keep you grounded for forever. Your potential is too great to be caged in by even the strongest prejudices and the worst of circumstances. You're incredible, and someday soon you'll get to prove it."

His chin tucked so he could look down at her and meet the intensity of her gaze up at him. It seemed too far-fetched, too optimistic, too good to be true. But she'd never lied to him before and he so desperately wanted to believe that she was telling the truth that it burned him with want. He moved his arm to wrap it around her and pull her against his side, and she broke his stare to snuggle contentedly against his bridge. Silence stretched between them, full of thoughtful pondering and wondering, and Donatello came to the conclusion that maybe not every silence was a bad one.

"Heh, you know, I was going to wait until tomorrow to tell you about it once I'd had the time to hammer out some last minute details but now seems like a good time. I've been working on something that I think will really revolutionize the world hunger problem. People throw out SO. Much. Food. If there was just some way to change its internal chemistry so that-"

But before he could finish his schpiel Aaliyah had already jerked bolt upright and was staring at him with a horrified expression, effectively silencing him in total confusion. "Donatello Hamato, please don't tell me you made a Revivifier."

Balking in shock, he shifted to face her more fully. "How did you know that's what I'd named it? Have you been going through my notes?"

Shoulders slumping, her hand flew to her face to cover her eyes with a solid 'slap.' "Don, is it fully functioning?"

Now scowling with some amount of indignation at the way his brilliant and world-altering invention was being treated, he huffed at her. "Well I haven't had the time to fine-tune it just yet, and there's still a couple of kinks that need to be ironed out in the programming-"

"Is it out where Michelangelo can mess with it?"

His face dropped into a deadpan expression as he replied sarcastically, "No I hid it under my bed."

Just then, Donatello's phone chirped and Aaliyah cursed under her breath. Not sticking around to find out who it was or what they wanted she jumped to her feet and took off for the Battle Shell. "Come on genius! Date's over! Start the truck!"

Feeling lost, confused, and a little hurt he climbed to his feet and followed the swinging flash of glittering hair and the streaming tails of his bandana as they flowed easily in the breeze, his mask still hanging like a flag around her neck. He couldn't help but wonder why he didn't feel like this was as much of a victory as he'd pictured it in his mind, given the way she'd so lovingly placed the material around her neck. But there was no time to think about that now, he realized as he too climbed into the Battle Shell and finally looked at the harbinger that blazed across the screen.

1 Missed Call from [MASTER SPLINTER]


	17. Maternity

Tires squealed as I stopped the Battle Shell abruptly, but by the time I could even pull the key from the ignition Aaliyah's door was already slamming shut and her ponytail was bouncing towards the stairs down to where Master Splinter was waiting for us. I'd of course called him back on the drive home and he'd explained as much as he was aware of, but it was easy enough to figure out even without the brothers in any position to explain for themselves. And for the rest of the silent drive home all I could do was berate myself. How could I have been so careless? Of course Michelangelo would have messed with it. I should have known, should have anticipated. But I had left it plugged in and now we would have to face the consequences of my actions. Luckily my freakishly long legs were able to catch up with Aaliyah just as she entered the main area of our home where Sensei was serenely keeping watch over a trio of very tiny turtles.

I had to step around her because she froze in place, hands clapped over her mouth, as soon as she saw them. "Oh nooooooo." She whimpered breathily and I ducked to see her glassy eyes grow wide.

"Aaliyah, it's ok, they're fine. I'll fix the machi-" But she cut off my explanation by jerking her head over to look at me and dropping her hands to her chest, revealing that her expression was actually not one of horror. Her mouth was as wide open as it could go and a painfully high-pitched keening eeked out before she could quickly cover her mouth again.

"_Beebees!_" She squealed quietly and I took a step back in surprise. She was excited? A minute ago she seemed like she was fuming. She hadn't said one word the whole drive home! However, the next series of actions made the whole disaster that was the end of our da- ...outing... worth whatever frustration she'd taken out on me.

She tiptoed almost tentatively over to the three infants until she was five feet away and then she crouched down to approach on her hands and feet in a rather ape-like hop-walk. She cooed and whispered quietly to the brothers as she carefully made her way to their sides, finally easing herself down to sit cross-legged a foot away.

Leonardo squeaked and crawled towards Sensei, who was smiling warmly at Aaliyah, while Raphael scrunched up his face unhappily at her and started to fuss. Michelangelo, on the other hand, chirped and made a bee-line straight for her, crawling into her lap. Aaliyah squealed quietly and scooped up the tiny turtle, curling herself around him protectively.

Absolutely fascinated I walked over silently to watch her play with Michelangelo, struck by how completely absorbed in his little face she seemed. Even I could admit that he was cute, but she was so wrapped up in him that I was almost certain that I could have picked her up and she wouldn't have noticed. I'd never seen such an immediate and powerful maternal reaction before and to see it in action was stunning. Before I had realized I'd done so I found myself on the floor nearby, craning to investigate the way she looked down at Michelangelo with such total adoration and love you'd have thought this was her own flesh and blood.

And this same reaction wasn't just reserved for Michelangelo either, as I soon found out. Raphael became jealous of the Mikey's coddling and the outpouring of snuggles and kisses and crawled over as forcefully as he could, ramming into her leg with his head to get her attention. I half expected her expression to change when she turned her attention to Raphael, but I didn't expect her to grow even more excited. Already glowing she lit up even brighter and gasped at being bestowed such an honor as having Raphael show her any interest, and she scooped him up oh-so-carefully to cuddle him just as closely as Mikey. She kissed his tiny face with just as much enthusiasm and reverence, which he swatted away. However, as soon as she stopped he began fussing unhappily, making Aaliyah laugh.

Leonardo, I observed, clung uncertainly to Sensei's robe. But Dad carefully nudged him towards the showering of affection that he was eyeing and finally Leo decided to leave the security of Dad's side and venture over to the excitement. And I'll be damned if Aaliyah didn't light up even brighter when Leonardo crawled over, so much so that her eyes became glassy again and a few tears slid down her cheek. She set Mikey down in the curve of her lap and picked up Leo, nuzzling him like her own child had been returned to her from her own dimension.

And it was at that realization that I sat up straight and turned to Sensei. He looked over to me wisely and nodded at the tender scene in front of the two of us. "Donatello, my son. You see Miss Aaliyah there? It was by watching Mr. O'Neil and the care he showed to his daughter April in the laboratory that I learned that I should care for you four after our release and our mutation. I showed each of you the same amount of care that I saw Mr. O'Neil express to April, and even when it was difficult I never allowed that memory to fade. I visited it daily, even hourly, to guide the way that I should care for you and your brothers. But perhaps if I had seen a mother," he said, gesturing with a sweep of his hand towards the four of them, "loving and caring for her young children rather than a father caring for his 9 year-old daughter with his colleagues present, perhaps I might have done things differently."

Shockingly, Aaliyah started from her absolute absorption immediately. She's been so involved that I'd been 98.768% sure that she wouldn't have paid one bit of attention but clearly she was still able to listen to every word Sensei had said. Maybe it was true what they said about women and multitasking.

"No! Sensei, no, you were a wonderful father. These cuties may be adorable now but I know when they were getting bigger it was harder. Boys love to explore and get into trouble. You had to be strict to keep them safe. And look at how they turned out! They are strong, brave, honorable, noble men who not only have the capability but also the undying desire to protect and defend those who can't defend themselves. You raised four incredible gentlemen and I am so honored to be able to see everything that your efforts have created. You were and are an incredible father, Splinter."

Sensei bowed his head in gratitude and nodded a little. "Thank you. It was not always easy. In fact, it was rarely ever easy. But these are my sons and I did everything that I could for them."

The inside of my plastron was warm and tight from all of the words that had been spoken and my voice cracked with emotion as I tried agreeing with Aaliyah. "You've always been the best. We wouldn't have survived without you."

Sensei's eyes watered appreciatively and he bowed his head gratefully. "Those were difficult times, but I must admit that it warms my heart to see my sons so young again." His ears perked up then and his tail twitched in concern. "However, they cannot stay this way. Tell me my son, can they be returned to the way they were before?"

Starting from my place near Aaliyah I nodded quickly and began inching my way towards my lab. "Oh, yeah, definitely. I'll just need to recalibrate the Revivifier, make a few adjustments, and they'll be good as new. Or, good as old, I guess."

Truth be told that was the last thing I really wanted to do right now with the way Aaliyah had gone back to making faces at the babies and cuddling them closely. I couldn't put my finger on it was but I was instinctively drawn to this uncharacteristic showering of maternal affection and curiosity had me by the tail. It took another urging from Sensei that it was imperative my brothers be returned to their original size as soon as possible before I could turn shell and get to work.

Not that I was especially productive anyways. Each time I snuck out of my workspace for one VERY GOOD reason or another, be it coffee or a missing part or some odd piece of something from somewhere in the lair, I was always greeted by the most animated version of Aaliyah I'd ever seen. Each time it was a new activity, a new adventure, and every single one looked to be the very best thing this world had to offer if I was to believe the way she was carrying on.

By the 7th time in two hours I found myself looking for something outside of my workspace that I could possibly use, however, I finally gave up pretending to work and abandoned the project until I could fill whatever insane fascination I'd already formed to this most unexpected series of circumstances. After all, the thoroughly overused 'definition of insanity' at least wasn't incorrect in it's fundamental principle. So with a toss of a grease-stained rag over my shoulder I finally wandered purposely from my lab and followed my ears to the kitchen. And, subsequently, my nose.

There was Aaliyah with two tiny babes tucked securely in one arm, watching her at the stove while she stirred what looked like a thick stew of sorts. Sensei held the third, though without being at a vantage point where I could examine their faces I couldn't tell which was which. I didn't concern myself too much with it, however, as I was already intensely focused on what was happening at the little stove.

"Yes Mikey, we're still stirring the soup. It should be ready soon. Oh no Leo, don't touch that. It is very hot and it will burn you. Oh, you want a turn to stir? Ok, just hold the handle here. There you go! You too? Ok, everybody hold the handle and we're going to … stir! Stir! Stir!" Aaliyah's animated conversation with the squeaking pair of tiny turtles was adorable by itself but then the way she gyrated her whole body to allow them to hang on to the very end of the long wooden spoon while it moved around in the pot was almost unbearably cute. I could feel my cheeks warming already and I'd only been present for 29 seconds.

"Ok babies! I think it's all done now! Let's scoop some into some bowls so they can start cooling down. How many bowls will we need? Hm?" She asked the little pair and Raphael barked at them from Sensei's lap. Aaliyah turned and grinned, nodding as though he'd said something very wise. "That's right, we'll need 6 bowls. One for Raphael, one for Leonardo, one for Michelangelo, one for Donnie, one for Sensei, and one for me! Six bowls."

She fished them out of the little cabinet we'd salvaged a few years ago and ladled the thick concoction into each of them quickly. "Ok boys, now these are too hot to eat right now. So we'll have to wait until they can cool down. So what do you say we do something while we wait, hm? What should we do?" Leo babbled in our old way of chirping and squeaking and Aaliyah listened intently. "Oh well that's perfect! Of course I want to dance with you!"

Michelangelo squealed back and Aaliyah scoffed, taking mock offense to it. "Mikey, really, don't be daft. Of course I can dance with the both of you! I happen to be an excellent dancer, thank you very much. But don't hold onto that when you get big again. Deal? Alright, now let's get everybody turned around."

Watching her lean backwards and carefully roll both of the little one over was intensely heartwarming. Aaliyah took acutely intense care to make sure they each had a secure place on her front, one in each arm, before she righted herself again and began bouncing to the beat of some unheard song. After a few moments of getting a beat she added a sway to the bounce and picked up a tune that matched the pace she'd set. I didn't recognize it at first, but soon after the soft lilting of her voice had made it through the first chorus I recognized it as a Michael Buble song. The three of them bounced and rocked and stepped soothingly around the kitchen nearly through the whole song before Raphael began squeaking unhappily at being left out.

With a grin she carefully traded Sensei her two for his one and began cooing at him. "Oh Raphael, of course you can cut in! You're such a charmer. What's that? Oh of course! I think something a little different would be appropriate. How about a Tango? Would you tango with me, Raphie?" He chirped and squeaked, which Aaliyah took as confirmation. She carefully positioned him on her chest and held his tiny little hand out while giggling. Then with a dramatic flick of her hair she began singing a dramatic Spanish tune and twirled around the kitchen in a mock Tango. Funny enough, and adorably enough, Aaliyah took the part of the male dancer, emphasized by the fact that she dipped the little chirping Raphael several times and rolled him across her front in a mock twirl.

Finally I couldn't contain it anymore and I laughed at the silly and purposely dramatic dance she was performing partially for the entertainment of the spectators. I wish I hadn't, though, because the sound made her jump in surprise and immediately Raphael squealed, his arms reaching in my direction and tiny hands opening and closing. I could only just imagine his indignation at being danced with in such a humorous manner and now he was anxious to escape any more demoralization and emasculinization.

"Hey Don! How's it coming in there?" She asked cheerfully. At least Aaliyah wasn't upset at being interrupted, and she eagerly passed off the squirming bundle so she could attend to the bowls of soup. I took him, of course, tucking him into a football-type hold as I fully entered the kitchen.

"Fine, but I could use a break. There's a few things I need to roll around and digest before I can make any more final decisions. How are things here?"

She grinned at me over her shoulder. "Marvelous. We're having the best time! I hope things aren't moving TOO quickly there in your lab because these guys are definitely way cuter at this size. I could just eat them up!"

I looked down at Raphael who was chewing on the tail of my mask and I chuckled at his big, wide, innocent expression. "They are pretty cute."

"I couldn't agree more." Sensei agreed with a nod as Michelangelo and Leonardo both snuggled into his wiry fur.

"Oh dear, hurry, before they fall asleep we really should get them to eat something or else they'll be up in the middle of the night. Not to say they won't be anyways but if they get some food then they might sleep longer." She quickly prompted, bringing over the three bowls that she'd been stirring to cool down.

We each took one and helped them eat, though Raphael was being cantankerous and insisted on feeding himself. More of the meal ended up on them than in their mouths, so it was only logical that they be bathed first. And with their tiny size it wasn't necessary to put them into the bathtub, according to both Aaliyah and Sensei, so into a stopped up sink they went. The two of them carefully washed and scrubbed the wiggling trio of tiny brothers while I had my fill of the savory stew and then it was my chore to dry them and diaper them while Aaliyah and Sensei took their turn at the table.

This gave me a new appreciation for the past several hours of entertainment that Aaliyah had provided flawlessly. Each brother had a mind of his own and insisted on exploring while I worked to dry another, and that on its own was challenge enough. They squirmed and wiggled and flailed, chirping and squawking, but eventually they were all dry and diapered. Aaliyah appeared over my shoulder and collected them, carrying them all to one of the bean bags and plopped herself down inside of it.

Curious, I followed and watched as she started to settle each of them down on top of her. "Aaliyah... what are you doing?"

"Training circus elephants. What are **you** doing?" She replied sarcastically, allowing Michelangelo to bury himself between her neck and shoulder.

"Wondering why you aren't putting them into their own beds." I questioned, really trying to avoid the sarcastic bite I had in response that would only lead to bickering over something unnecessary.

"So that I can take care of them tonight. I'm a light sleeper so I can wake up when they start to fuss. If I put them into their own beds, I'd have to sleep on the floor in order to hear them. This way I can keep an eye on them tonight. I already told Sensei I'd watch them so he can get his beauty rest." She answered in a very matter-of-fact way. Leo and Raph snuggled together on her stomach and she brushed her hand lovingly over their shells.

"Why not just take them to bed with you?" I asked carefully, guessing that maybe there was one more underlying motive for keeping them close. She looked up and smiled at me, shaking her head at my suggestion.

"Naw, I thought about that but I don't want to risk having any of them fall off. If I'm here it's just a short fall should any of them try to sneak away. My bed is a couple of feet taller and therefore more dangerous."

"Heh." I huffed a little laugh and shook my head. She was utterly and completely content there, surrounded by babies, and I already knew that it was pointless to try to go back to the lab and pretend to work. I was tired anyways, and I wanted to stay. So I did. After asking Aaliyah if it was alright, of course. It would be rude and presumptuous to assume I was welcome to join such an intimate moment.

I picked up the other bean bag and set it down quietly next to hers, settling into it on my side so I could watch her while she watched the brothers. They chirped happily at having something warm and soft they could snuggle while they settled down, peeping like a nest of scaly, shelled birds. I have to admit, even though I could easily identify them as my own brothers the sight of them nestled together stirred something deeply paternal in my gut.

It was incredible to even watch her resting with the trio of them. Any time one of them peeped a little bit too loudly or moved around her hand automatically rose to rest on their shell and stroke them back into serenity. Her eyes cracked open only once or twice but mostly her actions were done while she looked like she was sleeping. And true to her word, even once her breathing evened out into a deep and peaceful measure her eyes were open as soon as one of the brothers began chirping.

Michelangelo in particular had a difficult time staying asleep and his place against her neck made her ultra sensitive to his stirrings, sometimes waking her up even before he'd really gotten squeaking. Finally at 2 AM I rolled out of the bean bag, muscles stiff and sore from my insistence to sleep on my side, and I took the little unsettled child to give Aaliyah a break. We walked the house for what felt like nearly an hour, plus a change of his cloth diaper, before he finally gave up his fussing and passed out into true, deep sleep. Depositing the bundle back into his place, wincing as Aaliyah's eyes popped open, she smiled gratefully and rubbed her warm cheek against the light snores at her neck.

And then she offered to me her hand. I didn't notice it as I dropped into the bean bag again but eventually I did. I took it, expecting a light squeeze of gratitude and then for her to replace her hand on Raphael's shell. But she didn't. Her fingers laced with mine and they stayed there as her breathing evened out again. They stayed there even as I stared at them in the darkness of the night. They stayed there even as I shifted myself around to settle so that my nose brushed her knuckles. And they stayed there even as my own breathing finally evened out.

.

28 hours later my eyes cracked open to find my lap thoroughly occupied. I'd finally completed the necessary modifications to the Revivifier the previous night but with the brothers having settled down for the evening it was decided to let them sleep. Aaliyah's warmth against my plastron definitely made up for the discomfort of the bean bag and the adoring way she'd crawled into it after I'd taken Leo at 1 AM that night was easily worth the grogginess that clung to my eyes. I made the mistake of stretching out my legs, unintentionally waking up the largest of my occupants.

I hummed quietly and brushed my hand over her hair, trying to soothe her back into slumber. " 'M sorry."

She hummed in reply, shifting carefully so that her nose could nuzzle into my neck. My chin tucked to return the gesture into the hair on top of her head. It was incredible just how perfectly adapted she was to nurturing and how skilled she was at everything it required. All day she'd run about with more than one tyke at one time and never showed one ounce of exhaustion even when she'd been up nearly every hour of the night before. She was an expert and I was barely a novice but the approving smiles and nods she'd given me over the past day made me feel like maybe I could do this. Maybe I could figure this parenting thing out... someday. Maybe someday... maybe after the Shredder was defeated... maybe if the circumstances were right...

My thoughts were interrupted by Aaliyah's chin lifting up and her sleepy eyes meeting mine. My whole chest pinched at just how beautiful she was with her hair making a messy halo around her head, the little crinkles at the corners of her eyes, and I leaned down to touch my forehead to hers. How we all got so lucky was beyond my understanding. I wanted to just soak her up for a while, bask there in the warm glow of the moment.

I didn't expect the feeling of warmth on my lips. I thought it was her chin and I kissed it lightly, daring to steal one half-second of contact.

Then I was kissed back.

My eyes flew open at the same time as my chest expanded sharply to draw in a small gasp of surprise. That was definitely Aaliyah's face, and that was definitely her mouth. We stayed frozen a hair's breadth apart, my own breath held tightly in my chest as my eyes flicked over every inch of her face in panic. Her face was calm, relaxed, still riding on the cusp of sleep and yet just as radiant as ever. Maybe more. She didn't... look stressed. Or disgusted. Or panicked. In fact she hummed and tilted her chin up just the tiniest bit, warm breath ghosting lightly across my face.

A thick swallow. A long moment of hesitation. A subtle movement spanning no more than one sixteenth of an inch. But I made it, barely did I make it. It was just the gentlest of brushes. Barely any contact if I was being frank. But it felt like leaping across the Hudson River, somehow miraculously landing on the other side when she pressed back against that so very risky touch. Her lips were warm and tasted of toothpaste, and I tried to tell them everything I could through the hammering in my chest that likely even Sensei could hear. Whatever it was I was doing, because it was never more clear to me than in that moment that I had absolutely no idea of what that was, she replied. Slowly, unhurriedly, contentedly, patiently, repeatedly. Lips slipped over and over and molded and meshed at slightly different experimental angles to the tempo of her tickling breath on my cheek. Hers only, of course, because I was still holding mine.

When I could finally hear my own breath over the sound of my thundering heart I cupped the back of her head and leaned into her, praying that I wasn't still sleeping. It might have been a more logical explanation for why she was taking my lower lip between her teeth, why I could feel the upturn of her smile instead of the sting of a slap. But logic aside (not a sentiment I was used to feeling) and more than anything I wanted it to be real. It had to be real. It was far, far better than any secret midnight imaginings could have conjured up. Minus the very real feeling that at any moment I was very likely to pass out, of course, which somehow only added to the reality of the moment.

Her mouth was small, or rather mine was freakishly large, but it didn't seem to matter as much as I'd thought it would. They still fit. I fit. Against all rational thought, I could fit with her. No matter how many times I asked her lips if I fit, if I was enough, if I had what she needed and if I could give her what she deserved the answer was always the same. A press of her mouth that was light and warm and lingering and absolutely perfect. Her impossibly soft lips molding gently over mine. I wasn't going to tear them, was I? And even with as acutely aware of the passage of time as I pride myself on being, it felt like the simultaneous combination of years and seconds streaming by. Maybe if I lost count of the finite eternity that her mouth had captured me in, maybe we could stay there. In stasis, in limbo. Existing in a nexus of space-time that was only so large as our two bodies. I never wanted it to end.

It did, though, with a chirp that turned into a hungry chorus of squeaks. Aaliyah pulled away and turned her attention to the brothers who were rising and shouting for attention. She peppered their faces with the remainder of my kisses and wiggled her way out of my lap. Dazed, fogged, and feeling thoroughly drunk I barely had the presence of mind to offer my hand in helping her out of the beanbag. Maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe I should have kept her. I wanted to. But intoxicated as I was the only action it seemed that I could complete was to blink after her retreating form as she carried the brothers towards Sensei's room. It was, after all, time to change them back. And one last snuggle was necessary.

For once, my mind was blissfully blank for a few minutes. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if my brain ever takes a break, even while sleeping. I don't think it does, usually. And the last time my mind was so clear I'd been under heavy anesthetics and that had been a few years ago. But that experience had been accompanied by nausea and the sluggish inability to function under the effect of the drugs. I hated it. This was like the kick from a perfectly brewed first cup of coffee from a fresh bag of beans the morning after a night of productive inventing. In fact, I felt so light and full of energy (likely in the form of adrenaline and dopamine) I felt like I could have taken on an entire squadron of Foot Ninja. Maybe even the Shredder himself.

Even as I got up and going I was grinning like an idiot, thinking about Aaliyah, all the way up until she shuffled into the lab with the brothers and Sensei, eyes brimming with tears. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, acutely feeling every single inch of that terrible fall from paradise, but promptly snapped it closed. I didn't need to ask. We'd already talked about it as we were settling down for the night last night.

I'd thought she was already asleep since her light scratches to the minuscule shells in her lap had stopped a while ago and her breathing was slow and even. I was on the edge of sleep myself when I heard her sigh. One of my eyes cracked open to see her frowning and quickly my head perked up. "Aaliyah, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer at first but eventually her eyes opened as well to stare at the ceiling miserably. "I love them, Donnie."

Without further explanation I would have had to try to fill in the blanks on my own, a dangerous act with something like this, so instead I opted for some gentle, indirect probing. "You've always loved us."

That managed to pull a half-smile out of her that lingered even after she turned her head to face me and reached out her hand to take mine. "Yeah, I have. But this is different. I mean, I know they're not mine. I have no delusions about that. But after two days I already feel like they might as well be. And I almost want them to be, you know?"

Quite frankly, I didn't, but I let her keep talking without interruption. "I miss my baby girl so much. Some days it's easier to put her memory up on a shelf, but it's still this huge gaping hole in my chest. And even if we could leave these guys this size, which we can't, I know they wouldn't ever really fill up that hole completely. But it's hurt less these past two days than any other days I've been here. I love being a mom and I love taking care of the brothers. And my heart feels like it's grown three sizes bigger today. I just… It's going to hurt so much when we have to make them big again. I don't know if I'm ready. I don't want to have to say goodbye again. Not yet."

Her eyes filled up with tears and her chin wobbled unsteadily with suppressed emotion that quickly spilled down her cheeks. I didn't know what to do or what to say. Usually in a situation like this I'd hazard a guess that a hug would be the appropriate response, partnered with allowing her to express her feelings for as long as need be. But with the brothers resting quietly on her lap I wasn't so confident that I could pull her over without waking them up.

The only thing I could think to do was to offer my hand. Technically she was still holding it, but I lifted it and touched my knuckles to her cheek and brushed away the wet stain in as comforting of a manner as possible. She nuzzled into it and tugged it into cupping her cheek and jaw and that's how we stayed while she quietly breathed deeply and whimpered at the inevitability of tomorrow.

I thought about offering to leave them small for another day. One more set of 24 hours to fill her canteen, as it were, and put off aging them until she was ready. But even I couldn't honestly offer her that option. How do you prepare for something like that? Maybe it wasn't possible, maybe it was. The only thing I could really prepare for was a fight. If she wasn't ready then it was entirely possible that she wouldn't give them up. If she'd already formed a maternal attachment to them then it was entirely possible Sensei and I would have to work together to forcibly remove them from her. And with as many nature documentaries as I'd watched… That was Not a fight I was looking forward to.

Even now that the moment arrived I was once again tense with the renewed anticipation of a possible scuffle. Sensei carried the brothers' clothes in and set them down near the machine. The atmosphere of the room as palpably somber and I almost broke, almost suggested that they could stay small for a little while longer. But Aaliyah spoke up before I could suggest it, sniffing lightly as she did so.

"Ok Leo, fun's over sweetie. It's important that we get you back to normal. Thank you for letting me play with you. It was so, so nice to be with such a handsome little you the last couple of days. But it's time for you to be big again. I'll wait outside for you. I love you little sweetheart." She kissed his head, flushed cheeks stained with tears, and passed him to Sensei gently. Clutching Raphael and Michelangelo to her chest she stepped out of the lab, allowing him some privacy since he would be bare when he returned to his normal size.

Sensei and I shared a pained look. Inevitability was a hard thing, but especially when it required the maturity to let it happen. There wasn't going to be an altercation, which I was immensely relieved about, but the alternative was nearly as heartbreaking. I directed Sensei to place the happy little Leonardo on the floor while I fired up the machine, and one flash and a zap later my brother blinked over at me in utter confusion.

"Donnie?"

I grinned and pumped my fist at the flawless execution of the device. "Bam! Ha! It totally worked! Welcome back bro."

Leo picked himself up off the floor and dusted himself off, suddenly aware that the only thing he was wearing was dust. "Good to be back. I wouldn't dare complain about being carried everywhere but it is nice to stand on my own two feet. Where-?"

"Here, my son." Sensei directed, handing Leo his clothes. He accepted them with a slight bow and a grin.

"Thanks dad."

Master Splinter waited a few moments for Leo to get mostly put together before addressing him again. "How are you feeling, Leonardo? This can't have been an easy time for you. Are you well?"

Leo nodded, lacing up his shoes. "Yes Dad, I'm ok. Just hungry."

Sensei nodded sagely and gestured in the direction of the kitchen. "You are welcome to eat breakfast once you are prepared for the day. However, I might suggest that you share a few words with Miss Aaliyah. She became very attached to you three this past couple of days and this transition has been very difficult for her."

Leonardo's brow furrowed and he stood up straight to look in the direction Sensei gestured. "Is she ok? Is she still crying?"

Sensei's ears twitched and his tail swished a bit in subtle discomfort. "She remained outside the room to allow you a moment of privacy, and so I do not know."

Leo nodded and settled his katanas into place on his back, looking like he was preparing for a battle. "I'll go talk to her."

Something hot flashed in my chest and before I was exactly aware of what I was doing I'd already started walking towards the doorway. "I'll go talk to her."

"Donatello." Sensei's tone had me freezing mid-step and shrinking into my shell a bit. "While I'm sure your intentions are admirable, I advise that we allow Leonardo to speak with her first."

I knew that 'don't mess with me' tone anywhere and I slunk back to the Revivifier feeling more than just a little bit shame faced. What the shell had just come over me? Of course Leonardo was the logical choice to go out and comfort her right now. She'd just said goodbye to the infant version of him and now it would be beneficial to see the fully grown version next. Why would I try to step in and deny that closure? I mean, Leonardo and I were both equally capable of comforting Aaliyah. Maybe not. Maybe it was a unequal capability. And if it Was unequal there was no good way to figure out which of us was better equipped to handle the task at hand. And besides that, I'd already done my part to soothe her last night. And this morning.

My shell started feeling a bit uncomfortably pressurized while thinking about that again and I glanced awkwardly over at Dad who hadn't seemed to notice anything. Yet. Of course it was easy to slide those thoughts off to the side when Aaliyah and Leonardo walked back in. Not that it mattered, because we all care deeply about her and we've all grown more accustomed to what physical actions are understood by society to be supportive and platonic, but for some reason my eye went directly to where Leonardo's arm was wrapped around her and where his hand rested on her hip. It didn't matter, but I noticed.

We repeated the same process for Raphael, beginning with goodbyes and kisses and passing the actively chirping and wiggling bundle over to Sensei. Aaliyah stepped out of Leonardo's grip and exited the room again, this time not worrying quite so much about hurrying. Sensei held Raphael closely to his chest as he wandered over to the same spot as where Leonardo had been set down and then carefully propped him up into a sitting position. In no time at all we had Raphael back once again, a second flawless performance by the Revivifier.

This time I didn't offer to go to Aaliyah. I may not be experienced with many things in life but I do learn from mistakes. And I am patient. And right now exercising that patience seemed to be the best thing to do, especially with Sensei's watchful eye directing situation as he saw was best. And what he saw was best this time was to send Raphael alone to see her.

"Was she like that with me too?" Leonardo asked, and my head lifted from where I'd been absentmindedly running some diagnostics on the Revivifier. His face showed a mixture of emotions where it pointed towards where Raphael had lumbered out, mostly concern with a pinch of pain and second-hand sadness.

"Last night was worse." I answered quietly with a nod. "But she'll be ok. It's just hard to say goodbye again, especially after being taken away from her own family to be here with us. Not that I blame her. I can't imagine what she must be going through."

Leo nodded in time with Sensei, looking away as though the thought hurt him too much to keep facing the same direction. "I... can't either. Sometimes I forget that she's still healing." His thought was interrupted by the entrance of the missing trio, Michelangelo happily chewing on Aaliyah's finger as they walked. Raphael's hand swallowed her shoulder and helped to guide her so she didn't trip since she was so thoroughly wrapped up in our youngest brother she wasn't even pretending to watch where she was going.

One more round of goodbyes, but this time Sensei caught her hand and held it fast. "Aaliyah, perhaps it would be best if you stayed this time, hm?"

No further explanation seemed to be needed. She nodded and dashed back to stand between Raphael and Leonardo, and I reminded myself again that it was perfectly understandable. The machine whirred to life and when I glanced back over to check on her I had to remind myself one more time when I found her clinging to Raphael's arm with wide eyes and a trembling chin. Michelangelo gave one shrill squeal of fright that made Raphael wince in pain just as the Revivifier blasted him with light. And just like that, our baby brother was back.

Sensei nodded at Mikey as he checked himself over and beamed at the family. "Woohoo! MC Mikey is in the house!"

"Welcome back, my son. It is good to see you back to the size you are meant to be."

"'Liyah, I can't feel my hand. Leggo." Raphael grunted as he gently tried shaking her off. She peeped and immediately released his arm, petting it and apologizing. " 'S fine. 'S fine."

"Mama 'liyah!" Mikey shouted, running over to scoop her up into a bear hug. "Aw baby girl don't cry. It's ok. It's ok. You were amazing. I don't remember much of it but I know you were awesome. You're like a super mom! Right guys?"

Raphael and Leonardo agreed quickly, albeit awkwardly as neither of them seemed to have much memory of their time as infants. Which meant I had the golden opportunity to step in and fill in where Leonardo and Raphael couldn't. So I chimed in.

"You should have seen her! She made a sling out of a sheet! And she was able to cook while holding two of you at a time and it didn't slow her down one bit. She danced and she sang for you guys, even when it was three in the morning. She didn't loose her patience once even when Raphael screamed for an hour straight." Her head lifted from Michelangelo's shoulder and her watery eyes blinked back the last few tears that were threatening to fall as I started to regale the brothers with the details of what they had forgotten already.

"See baby girl? I told ya you were a super mom!"

"That sounds impressive, Aaliyah. I don't think I could have done that."

"An hour? Damn, I woulda thrown ma own self out by then!"

Conversation flowed easily from there into the kitchen where breakfast was consumed and the day carried on as usual, though with perhaps a bit more affection than was usual on Aaliyah's part. None of us minded, of course. Raphael pretended to be annoyed with it but Aaliyah especially seemed to know that he was less interested in chasing her away and more interested in his image as the tough guy than anything else.

I didn't get to be too exclusively near her the rest of that day. Or the day after that. Not that I minded. I was grateful, really. How could I be anything else? It gave me the space and time I needed to think about everything that had happened. It **would** have been nice to thank her, you know, for... _that._ And for being patient with me while I tried not to pass out. Thank her for not slapping me. For kissing me back. But then two days became four and four became six and I couldn't help but wonder... was I just being paranoid? Was I really overreacting? Was it just me?

Or was she avoiding me now?

… Nah, I was probably just imagining things.

… Right?


	18. Foreshadowing

_**I messed up. Big time. Literally the one and only thing I have been working so hard to NOT do... I did. I had one job. Keep the boys alive through their big battle with Shredder. And that meant keeping them focused and concentrated up until their fated duel. And what did I do? I smooched Don.**_

_**Brilliant.**_

_**So yes, I avoided him for a few days. I will be the first to admit that it was a rotten thing to do but at the time it seemed like the best option I had. Feelings aside. That became my mantra. Feelings aside. Feelings aside. I knew that pretending it never happened was immature and stupid, basically the emotional equivalent to sticking my head in the sand like an ostrich. But the big battle was coming. I could feel it in my bones. The world seemed to be coiling up like a spring and sitting Donnie down to talk about why my internal monologue consisted entirely of whiplashing between perpetual nosebleeds and rather violent arguments with myself didn't seem like the most productive way to spend his time. Rotten or not, at least he seemed to be keeping busy. You can always count on the completion of something big in the Lab to predict the next big event with the storyline. And since he was nearing the completion of several projects at the same time, I started to prepare.**_

_**Which, conveniently, consisted mostly of meetings with Leo and extra training with Sensei. I had a few tricks up my sleeve yet. And this time, Shredder was going down. But first... it was time I met up once again with our newest ally. Bishop.**_

-click- Ok try it now. Aaliyah, can you hear me? -click-

-click- Yep, loud and clear. How about you? -click-

-click- Bam! Yes! Finally! -click-

_**There was a lot of discussion and several days worth of intensive preparation for the meeting with Bishop but finally a way in to his many secret underground bases was located and the night had arrived. Everyone was doing their own pre-fight ritual to get ready and pumped, which left the bathroom fairly unoccupied for once. Raphael and I had 'chatted' about my avoiding of Donatello and as much as I was convinced that distracting him away from the so-very-important work that he did for his family could have disastrous consequences Raphael did make a few very good points that had me muttering to myself as I ran a razor blade across my leg that morning. Today was going to hinge around my personal confidence and I could NOT be bullied into submission by Bishop. Therefore, smooth legs were an absolute must.**_

-Ok guys, remember, we're here to meet up with Bishop. Keep an ear on your radios in case we get separated, this is recon and sharing of intel only. Hopefully we won't need them but we should be able to get back together just in case as long as everyone keeps their radios live. Raph, that means no fighting.-

-Damn.-

-Raphael!-

-D'oh! Sorry Sensei-

-Alright guys, we're here. Follow my lead. That includes you Fearless.-

-But...-

-Yes Donatello?-

-Are you sure you're ready for this? This morning didn't, uh,-

**_One of the few times the past few days that Donnie and I had worked together we'd managed to locate an abandoned gas station that had seen far too much traffic to be normal, and that was exactly where we were planning on going in. Originally we'd planned on just having Leo and myself go in but Sensei would hear none of that. So as much as I wasn't a fan of the idea it looked like we all were going to go meet up with Bishop together._**

**_In my muttering and griping about Raphael I managed to slice my leg open with the razor blade. Not deeply, but you'd have thought that I'd just hacked off my foot with as much blood as there was everywhere. Perfect. "MIIIIIIKEY!" The knucklehead was always around, he could probably find me a bandaid. Or gauze pad. A rag, at least._**

**_"Aaliyah, are you alright?" Sensei's voice somehow always managed to reverberate through whatever room he entered no matter how quietly he spoke and I giggled at him to try to dissuade the way his eyes widened in concern at the red trickling down my leg._**

**_"Yeah, just a clutz. No big deal, I was just hoping for a bandaid then I'll be good as new."_**

**_His wiry eyebrow lifted at my casual dismissal and his nose twitched disapprovingly. "My dear one, that is no small scratch. I will fetch Donatello and he will tend to your injury."_**

**_"Nonono!" I squeaked, earning even more concern. Time to backtrack. "I mean, it's just not worth bothering Donnie. I'm not dying, it's just a little thing. Believe me, the blood is making it look worse than it really is."_**

**_"Nevertheless, I shall fetch Donatello." He replied sternly. Well, it was worth a try at least. While Sensei disappeared I stuck my leg underneath some running water, hissing from the incredible shin-length sting. It was definitely going to smart for a few days at least. So much for trying to boost my confidence._**

-Yes, thank you, I'll be just fine. It takes more than a little scratch to take me down, Don. But thank you for your concern.-

-Ok, just checking. You know we Could do this another-

-Donnie.-

-… day... sorry.-

-Alright guys, on my six.-

-… 'you seriously just say 'on your six?' The shell is this, a cop show?-

-Hey, it sounded cool alright? I'm still getting myself psyched up!-

-Whatever.-

-Lame-o.-

-Drama Queen-

-That's Miss Drama Queen to you, Raphael.-

-Bite me.-

-Don't threaten me with a good time.-

-Ugh, seriously you guys, either get a room or focus here! We're almost to the door!-

-Alright, alright, fine, room it is. Come on Raph.-

-WHAT-

-Bahahahaha!-

-Hehehe, sorry Dee, Leo just set it up for me. I had to take the shot.-

-I'm gonna hurl.-

-Oh no you're not Raphael Hamato. Here comes a truck. Everybody ready, here's our ticket in. Sensei? You good to go?-

-Indeed my dear. Do not worry, I will not slow you down.-

-Oh, Sensei, I wasn't... I know you won't-

-Shh! Quiet!-

**_That was where Donnie found me. Hissing at my leg in the sink as I turned the water a brilliant pink. I didn't hear him enter but I sure as heck heard his realization that I was not 'properly' dressed. He said several words in French that I didn't understand but didn't have to in order to catch the general meaning of his exclamation. His first aid kit clattered to the floor and by the time I could even turn my head to see what in the heck had happened he already had his shell turned and his hands clamped firmly over his glasses. Looking down I blushed in second-hand embarrassment for him. Apparently a thin tank top and silk (torn and sewn back together) pajama booty shorts were not exactly what he was planning on walking in on._**

**_"Don, it's ok, I'm not naked. I just cut myself shaving and Dad was worrying about it. Please don't faint on me, you're too big for me to drag out of here and I don't think I've stopped bleeding yet anyways."_**

**_Even from the other side of the bathroom I could hear him swallow thickly and he turned to face me very, very slowly. I don't think I'd ever seen his face such a dark color before. It was too adorable. I couldn't help but giggle at him. Unfortunately that didn't seem to help much. The sight of blood, however, did._**

**_"Aaliyah! Ohmygoshthat'salotofblood. Geez, are you alright?" Clothing forgotten he rushed over and immediately drew my leg out of the cool water to get a better look at it. As soon as he did that, though, the gash immediately started spilling again and he had to rinse the red away. Which meant more hissing from me._**

-ok guys, we're in. They'll probably turn their blasters at us as soon as we're spotted so please do not react immediately by going all 'ninja mode.'-

-yeah yeah, no fighting. I got that the first time thanks-

-Ouch babycakes. Cut me deep. 'Ninja Mode' is totally the best mode. Why you gotta be like that?-

-shhhhhh-

-sorry-

Click-click

-aw shell. I really hate lookin' down the barrel a' Bishops goonies-

A deep breath. This was either going to go very right or terribly wrong. Time to put on my teacher face. -ok guys, please just follow my lead. Time to put on a show.-

-Put on a show? The shell're you-

_**"Sorry, sorry, I just need to see what's going on here." Donnie apologized. I just grunted at him and grimaced at the sting.**_

_**"It's fine. It's fine. It's not deep. Just gimme a bandaid and I'll be fine."**_

_**Donatello looked at me with an incredulous expression, as if I'd just suggested he give me a leg brace. "Aaliyah, this is nearly half the length of your shin. There is no bandaid currently manufactured by any commercial supplier that would cover this. Believe me, I've looked."**_

_**The sting had subsided from the cold so I raised my eyebrows at him with a bit more sass than may have exactly been called for in that moment. "And here I was wondering why Raphael wasn't covered in them already." Donatello expression deadpanned at my quip and I rolled my eyes. "Just grab me a rag, this'll stop bleeding eventually."**_

_**"That would be unsanitary and I don't recommend it."**_

_**Growling at my leg to keep from growling at him too much I finally huffed, "Fiiiine, do whatever it is you're going to do." Hopefully this wasn't a metaphor for how today was going to go with Bishop.**_

_**He nodded and carefully took my leg in his hands again. "Alright. This may sting a little, so I apologize in advance."**_

_**Great. Pain. "I know, I'll be fine."**_

I stepped out from our hiding place regally, head held high and shoulders back defiantly. "Ah! How wonderful! Bishop has sent us a security detail to make sure we reach him safely. Excellent. I trust he is expecting us? Hm? Well then we shouldn't keep him waiting! Lead the way!"

The guards looked at each other hesitantly and murmured quietly to themselves. The boys each looked at each other in shock, utterly befuddled as to what in the world I was doing. "Really? Nobody? Nobody is going to direct us to our meeting? Don't tell me that Bishop forgot that we told him we'd come visit him again. Tisk tisk. This is not the way to keep allies you know." I sighed dramatically and did my best to look annoyed at the inconvenience. "Very well, let Bishop know we've arrived. We'll wait here for a few minutes but please let him know we have a tight schedule to keep and we won't sit around all day for him. If you let him know that the Turtles, their Master, and the Witch have arrived I'm sure he'll know exactly who you're talking about."

There was the sound of radios coming to life and several people working to contact Agent Bishop. Ok so they still had several types of very large guns pointed at us but this was actually going pretty well so far. Good. The boys looked incredibly uncomfortable but Raphael was behaving himself so I wasn't too worried about them. They were bulletproof. Not laser-proof, but fast enough to react that it didn't really matter too much. Sensei and me? Not so much. So as long as I didn't get blown full of holes then today was a good day.

The graveling sound of Bishop's voice rumbled over the radios and even though none of us could hear what was being said it was pretty clear he was not happy. Bishop was pretty difficult to rattle but any chance we could get to ruffle his feathers brought me great joy. So maybe my leg still stung a bit. Hearing him snarl over the radio was plenty confidence boosting.

"Alright, follow us. Agent Bishop is waiting for you in his office."

I clapped my hands together and grinned at the men now lowering their weapons. "Oh I am so happy that John didn't forget. Come on boys! Let's go meet Death Incarnate."

**_Donatello was careful with my leg. Several bloody gauze pads and some tape later he surveyed his work one last time and made sure all of the corners and edges were smoothed down perfectly. "There. All better." He announced proudly at finding his work acceptable._**

**_"Thanks Don." He accepted my hug and started to clean up the mess that had been made. Until, at least, he caught sight of my hand reaching for the razor again. Instantly his fingers were around my wrist, arresting my movement._**

**_"What are you doing?"_**

**_"Shaving." I answered with raised eyebrows. "I'm not done."_**

**_Donatello was flabbergasted. "You just removed a large strip of your epidermal layer of your skin and you're going to go right back to shaving? The skin is still on the razor!"_**

**_I deftly turned the sink back on and rinsed the blade of it's mass of flesh. "There. Now it's down the drain. Happy?"_**

**_"No! You're going to injure yourself again!"_**

**_"No I'm not." I snorted dismissively, getting back to what I was doing earlier. "Look, if it's going to freak you out then don't watch. Either that or stick around so if I do somehow hack the rest of my leg off you can stitch it back on. But I AM shaving my legs, sliced up or not. We're seeing Bishop today."_**

**_Donnie couldn't make up his mind right away but eventually he decided that the safest thing to do was to stick around. Based on the curious way he watched the pink plastic case swipe over and over my skin, however, it wasn't a far stretch of the imagination to guess there might have been another reason he decided to stay. Especially once he started asking questions._**

**_"Do all humans shave?"_**

**_I almost opened my mouth to answer yes because at first I thought he was just asking about hair in general but then I had the mental image pop into my head of Donnie pointing out to Casey that his legs were unshaved and I choked out a laugh._**

**_"No, no. Some people don't like to shave and some can't for one reason or another. That and women and men grow hair differently so they shave differently. Guys usually don't shave their legs because their masculinity is too fragile and they don't want to be bothered with it. And women don't shave their faces because generally we don't really have any hair to speak of that grows there. We grow peach fuzz but that's just ridiculous to try to shave all the time."_**

**_"Excuse me?" His head tilted to try to see what I was talking about but was trying to do so without getting right into my face. I grinned at how much he resembled a curious owl and set down the razor. Once the water was off too I demonstrated the careful way he'd need to just barely brush his finger over the skin of my face in order to feel the teeny little invisible hairs._**

**_He tried to rub a fingertip over my chin like I'd shown him but ended up poking my face instead. A second attempt was likewise unsuccessful but I laughed it off to help him not feel so self conscious. On the third try, however, he carefully held my chin in one hand and leaned in closely. With his other hand now balanced and supported, breath whispering over my cheek, his thumb brushed over my skin in the softest touch he could possibly manage. It tickled unbearably, that much I could focus on. The other involuntary physical responses I was having to his touch, to being held, to his proximity to my face... those were stoically pushed aside as usual._**

The doors to Agent Bishop's office were opened for us and we marched in impressively. The man we were here for sat in his chair looking foreboding and dark so I gave him my brightest smile. Fake it til you make it. "John Bishop! Sorry for not calling ahead but you're notoriously difficult to find in the phone book. Hope you don't mind us dropping in like this but we did promise to come visit you again. How are you?"

He growled ominously and my stomach flipped over but I didn't let it show on my face. "I'm actually incredibly busy at the moment so if you've come here to exchange pleasantries I'm afraid I'm going to have to show you the way out. I have a meeting with the President in 30 minutes so let's make this quick."

"I'll show you quick." Raphael snarled but Sensei put his hand up and effectively silenced the hothead.

"Let's see, is the President about to cut your funding or has that happened already?" I asked with a sassy edge that lifted Bishops lips into a real snarl. "I have to apologize, I've only been in this timeline a few months. I'm not sure exactly what's happened and what hasn't all over this version of Earth."

"Well **I have** been here for far longer than anyone else on this planet and my business is no concern of yours." Bishop stood up suddenly, cape billowing. Geez, the special effects were ridiculous for this guy. There wasn't even a breeze. For some reason, however, seeing that brought a kind of surreal quality to this encounter. Kindof like suddenly realizing that you were dreaming and you can do anything.

"Your business, John, is exactly my business. I know everything about you and unless you want to fight what's coming alone and without any intel I suggest you sit and listen."

"How dare you speak to me that way." Bishop's tone was even and dangerous as he advanced forward, getting right into my face. Oh crap. Momentary powertrip wavering. "You don't know what I'm capable of. I could kill all of you right now and not even break a sweat."

"Is that because this clone body doesn't have that capability or because you just upgraded to your newer clone body? Again, sorry for not being totally caught up on where we're at." I sassed back though admittedly my tone wasn't as strong as before. I had to think, had to stay on my game. Bishop was probably not happy that there was someone who potentially knew all of the secrets that he'd been keeping for the last 200 years. So that was maybe something that I could use, right? His eyes betrayed nothing except for one tiny sparkle that I could quite place. It was either a flash of fear or recognition and I wasn't sure if I could make any assumptions just yet.

"John, we're here because we want to work with you in stopping Oroku Saki. We can sit here all day and fight about stupid and petty things like who knows what about whom or we could decide to agree to disagree and get to work." My softened tone was on purpose, obviously. Totally. Clearly. Not because seeing his silently infuriated expression a mere 6 inches away from my face had me totally terrified. Nope. Definitely not that. What? My hands? Shaking? Psh, definitely not. Must be a trick of the light. Magnitude 3 Earthquake in the area. We were deep underground after all.

And then his face inched closer and the gravel in his voice could have ground stone to powder. "You know nothing. You know nothing about me, about my organization, or about what's happening here. You're afraid and weak and pretending. You don't get to call me John. Nobody has that right anymore. And nobody tells me when to sit down and listen. It is you who needs me. You came here for MY help and I suggest you change your tune or else you won't be walking out of here in one piece."

Aaaaaaand there went all of my resolve. I could feel it. That moment when my self preservation starts to take over and I start spouting anything that will get me out. I looked over my shoulder at Raphael who stepped forward and put his hand on my shoulder, plastron nudging up against my back. He gave my shoulder a supportive squeeze that might have been more for him than for me since I could also hear him gnawing fiercely on the toothpick in his mouth.

Resolve at least stabilized with someone who understood what was happening at my back, I turned back to face Bishop again. "Alright, so you don't like being called John. Fine. Now that we have that out of the way and you've had your little monologue can we please get to work?"

Bishop didn't look like he heard me that time. He was looking at Raphael's hand on my shoulder and chuckling to himself. I didn't like that laugh. It was the laugh of a man who thinks he's won. I'd heard it enough during the episodes he was featured in to recognize it. "You're pathetic. You can't even face me in conversation without needing help."

Suddenly Bishop was thrown backwards and Donatello stood in front of me panting in great, heaving breaths. "Don't you DARE talk to her that way!"

Ok. This was NOT how I wanted my day to go today. I was REALLY hoping to avoid fighting today and now it looked like that was exactly what we were going to do. Any other day I'd probably think this was adorable and chivalrous and 'aww' at Donnie for standing up for me like that but today it was just not what was needed.

"Shit, Don!" Raphael cursed in admiration at Donatello's outburst. I, on the other hand, was already slipping around his wide shell and putting myself between Don and Bishop. Time to sack up.

"Donatello!" I snapped, one hand extended towards him to keep him in place. He was already crouched down, Bo extended and in ready position, just waiting to strike at Bishop again. Even his expression was dangerous. His normally wide and curious eyes hardened into narrow slits with his third eyelid sheathed over them protectively. But my own fierce expression, now directed at him, softened everything with uncertainty. His third eyelid flicked up to reveal hesitant and slightly guilty amber eyes and his Bo lowered just a few inches. "Not now. Ok? We have work that we need to do." His eyes widened in recognition and he stood up straight, sheathing his weapon fully.

_**I couldn't help it. My eyes slid closed at his gentle exploration of my sensitive face. A moan bubbled up in my throat but was swallowed back down before it could make its way out of my throat. If gentle touches were my one sure-fire weakness then gentle touches by large, calloused hands were my Kryptonite.**_

_**"Incredible! I'd never noticed it before but you do, in fact, have very short, fine hair covering your face." He noted with that breathy, awe-struck tone he used when making a new discovery.**_

_**Shamelessly I nuzzled into his hand and then withdrew from it, careful to make sure that I didn't indulge myself for too long. "Yep. We sure do. Hair growth is regulated by hormones and since men have a higher concentration of the hormones that control hair growth they tend to get thicker, longer hairs on their faces and other body parts than women. I think it was thought to be testosterone that regulated hair growth but I'm remembering that they figured out it wasn't testosterone. Or was it that it wasn't just testosterone? I can't remember. Anyways, yep. Humans are mammals and therefore covered in fur."**_

_**"Fascinating." He murmured, settling back on the little bit of counter space there was in the bathroom while I got back to prepping for the meeting with Bishop. Once my injured leg was complete I grinned and stuck it out for Donatello to feel.**_

_**"Alright, any missed spots?"**_

_**It seemed like every time he got to test for smoothness it was the most shocking thing he'd ever done. Every time. Michelangelo took it in stride, making a bit of a scene as he rubbed his hands all over my calves and proclaiming that they were the smoothest things he'd ever felt in his life. Every so often he'd even lift my leg up high enough he could rub his cheek on my shin but that usually was accompanied by his hand wandering up my thigh a little bit and he got a playful smack for it. The last time he did that, though, Donatello had chased after him with a look of murder in his eyes and Michelangelo didn't return to the lair for a full day. Since then he was a bit better about keeping his octopus hands in friendly territory.**_

_**Don was careful to avoid the gauze but otherwise was happy to be very thorough in his manual quality check. He even slid his hands down to my foot and tickled it just a little with a cautiously teasing smile. I squeaked and jerked my foot out of his hands and swatted his arm but joined in his laughter all the same. There were no missed spots and he held out his hands to accept the other leg but I lifted my chin and hopped away a few inches in mock haughtiness.**_

_**"No no, you'll tickle me again. I don't think you can be trusted again. Abuse of power does not earn you more power, Donatello. With great legs comes great responsibility and you are not showing great responsibility mister." I teased. He was smart enough to duck his head modestly through his sheepish grin though his hands didn't move from their outstretched position.**_

_**"Sorry, I won't tickle this time." He promised with his big puppy eyes and I had little in the way of argument against them.**_

_**"Alright, if you promise."**_

_**"Cross my heart."**_

_**And he kept his promise. There was one missed spot that needed to be taken care of and then checked again but otherwise there were no issues. Once that was taken care of and my leg was returned to me I started working on my face with the small amount of makeup that Donnie and Mikey were able to procure for me over the past few months. And Donnie stayed. I hadn't used the makeup yet and he'd never seen it applied in person before. He never said that explicitly but the unblinking way he watched told me enough. I made it all the way through the entire process without either of us saying a word, which was surprising for such a curious creature as he was. But finally the mascara and the lipstick were done and I turned to ask him what he thought of it.**_

_**His eyes went wide and he paled just slightly, his hand going to his plastron as if his heart might have just stopped working. That alone was compliment enough so I took his stunned silence as confirmation that I looked okay and turned back to the mirror to start working on my hair. Frightening as it was it was up in curlers which were actually (clean, mind you) toilet paper rolls and they'd been there since this morning. Finally dry it was time to take the curls down and see what my make-shift creation had wrought.**_

_**Surprisingly they worked well. They made some soft curls that had just a little bit of bounce to them and they seemed to hold fairly well with the sacred amount of hairspray that was anointed. One more check with Donatello finally pulled him out of whatever stupor he was in and he started speaking in some language I didn't speak. Japanese? French? Latin? You never really knew with Don. I giggled happily at the first sentence or two but then he kept going and my smile faded away.**_

_**It didn't matter that I didn't speak the language. It could have been Babalonian and I still would have gotten the general message with as wide and sincere as his eyes were, the way he almost whispered each word like a confession at an alter. His words faltered when he seemed to realize he wasn't speaking English anymore. His back straightened and he cleared his throat, a sound that chilled my stomach as though my innards had just taken the ice bucket challenge.**_

_**"A-Aaliyah. Um. Since... Since we don't know exactly how long we have left before we face the Shredder again I-I just wanted to tell you... That... uh... You're incredible and beautiful and-and... I just..."**_

_**One hand found his shoulder and one hand gently pressed two fingertips to his lips. My heart was absolutely melted and I wanted nothing more than to kiss him until his nervousness was forgotten. I wished it could be now with every piece of me. But not yet. Not just yet. Almost. Just a little longer. And so I murmured to him gently and lovingly, doing everything I could to pour all of my soul into this moment.**_

_**"Donatello. Sweetie. Listen to me. I need you to hold onto that thought for just a little longer. I want, I promise, I want to hear what you're about to say. But now just isn't the best time. We have work to do. Ok? We need to get ready to meet Bishop and we have preparations to make for Shredder. Then when it's a better time we can sit down and talk. Ok?"**_

_**Thankfully he nodded his head and averted his eyes bashfully. I didn't want to end with him feeling embarrassed though so I tilted his chin up and kissed his forehead sweetly, trailing little pecks down the side of his face to avoid his glasses and then pressed my lips to his with a little bit more force to drive the point home. It only lasted one full second, I couldn't risk any more than that, but it seemed to sufficiently stun him for the time being. I slipped out immediately while he was caught stupified and dashed off to actually get dressed. Only one more hour and then we'd be off.**_

My hard glare turned to meet Bishop's and we faced off for a few seconds. I was NOT going to let anyone ruin today. I had bigger fish to fry than Agent Bishop and my family, my new family, was on the line if I didn't. More powerful than a bolt of lucidity came this new source of courage against this foe and I puffed up angrily at him. This show was not over yet, folks. It was time for the second act to begin. "Agent John Bishop. You are either with us in this fight or you are against us. I come here of my own free will and choice to share information with you because we have a common enemy. Unless, of course, I am mistaken and you have not become the man you were meant to be. The stream of time and space that binds this multiverse together stems from my home world. I built this universe and every one that is like it. I know you and every version of you whether you want me to or not because I created you.

I know you were taken over 200 years ago and experimented on by aliens because how else could I have instilled in you your undying desire to 'protect' the Earth from them until the end of your days? I know the madness you've slipped into because I need that madness that is not tied down by the government's red tape in order to help us the best way possible. I know you've had clone bodies before this one and I know you'll have many more because if you fulfil your destiny then there are bigger and brighter and grander things waiting for you. I know your possible redemption story and I know your future because that is the way it was written from the very beginning before this universe was even a thought. Now you have a choice. Will you help us save the earth like you were born to do or will you fight against us and everything that you stand for in order to support your petty need for power and control? Because if your need to maintain your ego is larger than your need to keep the Earth safe then we'll walk out of here right now and leave you alone to find your own ruin."

He scowled at me for a long moment, mulling over my words and taking them into consideration. He straightened his tie finally and adjusted his glasses, sweeping aside the broken trinkets that had fallen from his desk when Donatello had thrown him. "I don't believe most of that creation garbage and fate is just an ancient word used to make unfortunate circumstances easier to swallow for those who are simple minded. But I do agree that we have common purpose, for now, and that if you have information to share I would be foolish to ignore it. You may proceed."

Everyone in the room relaxed just a little bit and I had no interest in wasting the five minutes of patience I'd just earned. So, marching forward, I took a seat and started from the beginning. We had a lot of ground to cover but it would all be worth the trouble if it meant we could get Bishop working on some little projects and prepare for the worst just like we were. I was glad that Sensei had insisted that the whole family come along, after all. Donnie had several good ideas that he was able to bat around with Bishop and Leonardo was good with planning some tactical locations and strategies with Sensei and Bishop. Mikey even had some good points to make about the element of surprise and keeping everyone safe while Raphael kept insisting that we go in guns a-blazing which did, eventually, pay off for him. Mostly, however, Raphael acted as my anchor when Bishop became too forceful and I needed a reminder of what I was battling for. And dearly did I need that. We even had to pause for Bishop's video conference with the President but then we were right back to it and we didn't actually leave for several long, but very productive, hours.

_**"SWEET MAMA MERCY AND COWABUNGA" Michelangelo yelled when I emerged from my room fully dressed and prepared to take on the night. "Who is THAT?"**_

_**I laughed and blushed at just how genuinely surprised Mikey was. I had done a little bit of contouring but I hadn't thought I'd gone too overboard on the makeup. "Mikey, it's meeee."**_

_**He gasped as though I'd just told him the Avengers were coming to visit and he rushed over theatrically. "Could it be? It can't be! I mean don't get me wrong you were always hot but daaaaaaamn! OH oh ohohoh! I have the perfect thing! Hang on!"**_

_**He rushed over to Donnie's computer and quickly pulled up YouTube. In seconds the sound of Uptown Funk were blaring through the lair which drew the attentions of the other family members. My face flared red but after some gentle coaxing from Michelangelo I finally put on my game face and strutted my stuff to the beat of the music until my own self-conscious laughter had me covering my face again. You'd have thought that Scarlet Johansen had chosen their living space to put on a private fashion show with the way Mikey started carrying on. He even got Raphael to whistle a couple of times and Leo wasn't above firing off a few carefully crafted compliments.**_

_**At the sight of Donatello needing to lean against the wall for support, however, the flirt in me finally started to come out. I winked at him and blew him a kiss that he bashfully made a show of catching in the air. Maybe even with the earlier disaster everything was going to turn out alright after all.**_


	19. Kismet

We ran through the sound of thunderous explosions and the shuddering of the hull beneath our feet. We ran past the stains of red that were splattered on the walls and pooling in little rivers under the blank and lifeless stares of those that we'd already cut through to get to our destination. It was hard chasing a phantom through an unfamiliar ship while Bishop did his part to blast it out of the sky. But that's where we were at in this insane death march. And quite frankly I'd already had more than enough. We were all filthy, sweaty, and covered in gore from all of the fighting we'd had to do to just get here and if we kept this up we weren't going to last five minutes against the Shredder.

"Ok, stop. Leo, stop. Guys, stop." I finally declared, skidding to a halt and tossing the machine gun I'd picked up somewhere along the way. It was empty anyways, I wasn't exactly sure why I was still carrying it. The heavy sounds of panting seemed to echo loudly in this empty hallway but it was good to hear because that meant that, at least so far, we were all still alive. "This is dumb. Shredder's just wearing us down by running us in circles. We need to stop chasing him and make him come to us. Donnie, those schematics that Bishop stole. Where's the engine room? Every time you guys battle the Shredder there's always some kind of high-energy power core driving one of these things courtesy of the Kraang that we can blow up. We go there and Shredder will follow."

"How do you know?" Leo challenged, as he'd been leading us on this merry chase this whole time so far. And all I could do at this point was laugh at him. Was he STILL going to be petty about trying to be the big brave leader? Seriously? We had better things to worry about.

"Cartoon Logic, that's why. Trust me. It's Destiny. Now come on! Don, lead the way." Leo hated when I took over but really this whole 'ring-around-the-rosie' business was getting boring and I was not going to let Shredder run them into the ground and THEN come face them when they were exhausted. Not on my watch. Leo's ego was not my top priority.

Everyone wanted to run to the engine room but even Sensei agreed with me that it was vital we saved our strength for the actual fight. So we walked, awkward and out-of-place as it felt. By the time we'd meandered through the ship, following Donnie's blueprints, the explosions were getting fewer in number and spaced further apart. Pretty soon we'd be exiting where Bishop could reach and from there it was up to us alone. To speed things up I suggested that Donatello start working on trying to overload the large, glowing, pulsing beam of ominous light at the center of the room. And sure enough, right on queue, as soon as Donnie started reprogramming the Shredder appeared with Karai.

"Alright guys, you know what to do. The moral of any beatdown with Shredder is that you can do anything so long as you work as a team. Leo, Sensei, take down Karai first. Incapacitate if possible, kill if not. She usually comes back after Shredder's defeat and almost kills you guys like four times so it's really no major loss if she dies today. Don, Mikey, Raph, take Shredder for now but don't heavily engage him until Leo and Sensei are done with Karai. Keep him moving, keep him fighting, keep him distracted but don't let him snap you in half. Ok? You won't be able to do this unless you work as a team. THAT much I can guarantee." I muttered to the boys while Shredder did his obligatory monologue swearing pain and death and vengeance against the turtles.

"Shouldn't Sensei and I take Shredder?" Leo hissed, snarling at the masked metal man.

"No. Your fight is with Karai first. It's just how the script is written, I'll tell you why later." I snapped back, which of course didn't make anything better.

"Well I'm not following the script!" He growled, coiling up to dramatically turn and face The Shredder. Suddenly panicked I slapped him hard across the face and grabbed his leather strap across his chest. This asshole was NOT going to ruin all of my hard work!

"Leonardo Hamato if you care even the _tiniest_ bit about your brothers and this family you **WILL** understand that some things are simply meant to be. If you go for Shredder now you'll be the _first_ to fall. Now you put aside your goddamn selfish need to prove yourself. **Nobody** cares if you're the _best_ or the _worst_ ninja here in the room. You. Will. Fight. Karai. If you need so damn much to prove yourself then take her out quickly and get to your brothers. Stick to the plan. I will not let you die today just because you can't get your _**head**_ out of your shell."

That seemed to shock him enough that he mutely nodded and his muscles went slack. Guilt swirled in my gut but it would have to wait. We had a planet to save.

_Ugh, great, now I was starting to be just as cheesy as everyone else here._

Luckily I didn't have long to groan at myself because the fighting started almost immediately. Splinter and Leonardo both took on Karai, the Distractor, while Mikey did what he does best and kept Shredder on his feet. Donatello and Raphael provided support for Michelangelo and took shots at Shredder where they could but mostly just danced around him like Mike. And me? I stayed the heck out of the way. My job was to be air support and the sniper where I could but the only way I'd even been allowed to come along was by agreeing to keep out of the fight with Shredder. That much I was happy to do. My specialty was with guns, not with hand-to-hand combat.

I climbed up high while the fighting carried on and perched out of sight where I could take a few cheap shots and still stay undetected. I didn't care if they were 'dishonorable.' The Shredder and Karai needed to be dead. Especially when it seemed that Karai was actually holding her own pretty well against Master Splinter and Leonardo. Mikey could only stall so long before one of those three got seriously hurt. I aimed carefully and once there was a pause where Karai had Leo at the point of her blade and Sensei was gearing up for the next attack I took my shot.

Karai went down. Leo screamed. The fighting paused, and I shot again. The only place worth aiming on a metal man is his mask, and I took out his eye. All things considered it wasn't very big contribution but now Shredder had a blind spot. And, consequently, was now very, very pissed off. I jumped down just in time to avoid getting a handful of knives embedded in my skull, leaving my gun behind, which brought me to my next priority. Ok, Second to Next priority. Leo was still on his knees with Karai in his lap.

"SENSEI! HELP THE OTHERS!" I shouted as my feet pounded the metal walkway in a beeline towards Leonardo. Splinter took off for his sons and I crashed into his eldest. Leo looked up at me with watering eyes and I took his face in my hands.

"Leo! She's not dead! Get up!"

"You shot her!" He was both shocked and furious and I honestly didn't know what to do in that moment. Half of me wanted to scream that of course I shot her while the other half insisted that I needed to let Leo have a moment. The thing was, however, we didn't have a moment to give him.

"Leo!" I shouted, shaking him again. "Karai is **Not** dead. It's just the way this works. It's _Karma_. You got stabbed in the shoulder by Karai in another universe and went down, now Karai's shoulder gets it and she goes down. That's the only way I was probably able to even hit her. You were fine, eventually, and she will be too. But none of us are going to be ok if you don't get up and help your family! You Have to fight as a team or we're all dead! Karai is fine! Now get up!"

He looked like he was in shock but a cry from Mikey jerked him out of his stupor. He blinked rapidly, returning to the situation at hand, and finally stood up. "Stay with Karai." He ordered, and I nodded. Quite honestly I had no desire to stay with her but if it would get Leo to move then I would.

Luckily for us all, it worked, and he took off towards the battle. Turning my attention to Karai I dragged her bleeding, cursing, groaning body off to the side and tied her to a pole. There was no way I was going to have her get back into the fight and mess things up.

Once Karai was securely tied in place my attention snapped back to the fighting. It was just as terrifying as it was beautiful. The four brothers and their father worked like they could read each other's minds, constantly aware of where each other was and what they were winding up to do. The Shredder was almost a blur, a snapping whirring blur of steel and edges and neither the boys nor their fated enemy were gaining any ground against each other. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, maybe it carried on for an hour… And then something gave.

Sensei's body hit the floor and the chamber filled with four agonized screams. Shredder forgotten, his sons rushed to his side and fell to their knees. And Shredder stood there, head thrown back in a wickedly victorious laugh.

An opening.

I didn't realize I was running until I was already half-way there, my one personal request to Bishop in my hand. This was where things were fated to go wrong. This is what I had seen. And this is why I was here. I blew past the sobbing pile of boys and barreled into the laughing menace, stabbing the metal spike into his armor. The laughing stopped abruptly, his chin snapping down so that his one good eye could glare down at me.

In a surreal moment of acceptance and understanding, the room perfectly silent, I found myself grinning up at my death. I pressed the button on the back of the spike, shocking him with a powerful, but localized, EMP which instantly disabled his suit. No technology is immune to an electromagnetic pulse. And with his suit disabled he wouldn't be able to hide inside of it to fight. He'd have to come out and face the infuriated brothers with his skin on display. And then they could beat him, but not without one last hurrah of effort on The Shredder's part.

I heard Donatello scream.

I felt the blade pierce my side.

I saw his helmet be flung from his face and I saw my earlier handiwork running red from his left eye socket.

Then there was a streak of green and purple and the dangerous sneer that had filled my vision disappeared, Donnie attacking the villain with a deadly intent I'd never imagined seeing on his face.

Red filled my vision again, masking two watering eyes. I pushed it away weakly, my life pooling Crimson on the floor, and rasped as the world went dark, "Help your brothers."

I felt my body roll to the floor and, once finally alone, let the roar of battle fade away into silence.

I'd been here before.

Not too long ago, actually. The emptiness of the Void. But this time when I entered the silence of the ether IT was waiting for me. That all-knowing mass of color and texture reached out and swirled around my consciousness again. Relaxing a bit, I noticed the IT that was immediately around me turned a light blue while the rest of it remained a pinkish-orange.

_I did it. The balance of the universe will be ok now._

**Do you remember your responsibilities?**

_Well yeah. Help maintain the balance of the universe. Make the sacrifice play and do what was needed to make sure that The Shredder didn't win._

**Then you have forgotten.**

That was not the response I was expecting to hear when I got here. I was expecting a pat on the… Right… I didn't have a head anymore… But still. A pat and a good job and 'yay the universe is safe.' But not that.

The IT washed over me and pulled back to my mind the memory of what IT had said before.

_**-You have known pain and thus you can bring pleasure, known heartache and thus can bring charity, known anger and thus can bring joy, known neglect and thus can bring care. You will lift up the heads of the weary and strengthen those who are no longer strong-**_

The sound echoed eerily through the space as they reverberated through my consciousness and turned my being from a confused light yellow to a surprised light pink.

**Have you done this?**

My first thought was 'no' but after a moment of recollection I amended my statement.

_I did, but not as I could have. I was caught up in the need to restore peace and order and defeating the Shredder that I forgot the rest. I strengthened Leonardo and Raphael, cared for Donatello, gave joy and charity to all but most especially Michelangelo, and served Splinter to the best of my abilities. But they were not weak when I arrived! They had no need for strengthening…_

**And what of now?**

_They've lost their Master and Father. And as of now they've also lost a friend. It would seem that now they might be in need of a bit more than what I was present for._

IT turned a pleasant green and its texture grew soft and warm. I, on the other hand became bright orange with excitement. Does that… Do you mean…

The green deepened in response and I squealed happily.

**This is but the start of your journey. As was told before your placement, the road ahead is long and dangerous. But if you will work and give Everything you have to offer to this universe, holding nothing back, you might be able to tip the balance back in favor of peace and order.**

A humble shade of light indigo, I agreed, and suddenly the sensation of being painfully squeezed back into my body flooded my awareness. It was the first real sensation I'd experienced in this universe and it was a pain I welcomed eagerly.

_"Donnie! Don we've got a pulse!"_

_"Blood pressure stabilizing, vitals stabilizing. Raph, put those paddles away carefully. Mikey, we need some blankets."_

_"On it Dee!"_

_"What's happenin' Don? Does this mean she's comin' back? Aaliyah?"_

_"Raphael, back up! I need space to work!"_

_"Aaliyah?"_

_"Leo, she can't hear us, she's still unconscious."_

_"Like shell she can't! Look!"_

My face scrunched up in a grimace at the intense burning sensation in my side. Damn that hurt. "Ow… effing… Ow…"

"Aaliyah!"

"Why is it so damn bright?"

"Oh… Sorry, here, let me..."

The light moved, allowing me to see it was a high-powered (Donatello-improved) desk lamp that had been used to illuminate the area. Everything was fuzzy and I felt like passing out but I was Here. I was really here. Tears stung at my eyes in gratitude for life and Raphael's hand reached over to grip one of mine softly.

"Sorry, we ain't got any pain junk for ya…"

"Anesthetics."

"Whatever."

I huffed a laugh but immediately cursed out loud at that decision. The stitches in my side flared up hotly and my head dropped backwards at the sting. "Ahh… Yep… It's fine. I just swear like a pirate when I'm in this kind of pain. It's all good. No worries. It's fine." I answered through my teeth and Raphael chuckled at me.

"Wouldn't be anything that hasn't come outta my mouth before."

I nodded, the exertion already making me feel woozy, and did my best to close my eyes and relax a little. "What happened with the Shredder?"

There was a beat of silence before Leonardo and Raphael turned to look at Donnie who's worried expression had turned dark and serious. "He's dead. Karai got away, the ship is being fished out of the Bay and Bishop gave us a ride home. All of us."

Everyone's eyes dropped heavily to the ground and I nodded in understanding. "Guys, I'm so sorry. Sensei would have been proud of you."

They looked up in confusion and looked at each other. "No, 'liyah, Sensei's alive." Leo corrected.

Startled, my head turned abruptly to Donatello. He nodded, exhausted, and wiped his hands on a rag. "He's really beat up and some of his injuries might stay with him for the rest of his life. But at least for now he's stable and asleep."

Leo and Raph both nodded and Raphael gave my hand a tiny little squeeze. "Don and I worked on Sensei first while Mike and Leo did what they could for ya. Good thing too cause Dad was in bad shape. Basically right when Dad was all patched up then ya heart stopped an' Don had ta run in here. I finished getting' Dad wrapped an' restin' 'for comin' in ta help. 'S been a helluva day."

Leo nodded mutely, looking more pensive and introverted than usual, and stood up a bit suddenly. "I'm going to go check on dad."

Donatello raised an eye ridge at his brother and shook his head once. "Leo, he's resting."

Leonardo, however, was already almost out the door. "I won't wake him."

Raphael gave me a very pointed look, indicating towards Donatello with a nod of his head, and stood up as well. "I'll see where the shell Mike is with the blankets. Probably fell asleep lookin'."

Donatello nodded, oblivious to his ulterior motives. "Bring back a glass of water as well, we probably had better start trying to rehydrate Aaliyah now that she's awake."

"Sure thing." Raphael replied as he exited the Lab, shutting the door behind him.

Donnie walked over smoothly and began checking my vital signs again, his close proximity allowing me to finally see the dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted and drained and upon further inspection it looked like he was still caked in blood, having not even paused to tend to his own injuries. Sleep pulled at my eyelids but I kept them open intently, fighting my own exhaustion from blood loss.

My left hand reached up and tangled with Donatello's fingers where they were resting on my neck, checking my pulse. His eyes flicked to meet mine, the serious thinness to his lips lifting into a sheepish smile at the action. "Your, uh, blood pressure is very low since you lost a lot of blood but it's at least stable. You'll probably experience a bit of drowsiness until your bone marrow can replace what was lost. I'll ask Casey to pick up some iron supplements and that should hopefully speed your recovery. Estimated recovery time will be about 2 weeks of bed rest, another two before the stitches can be removed, and two weeks after that we can begin Physical Therapy. Beyond that, it's difficult to predict."

I nodded in understanding, noticing that he hadn't moved his hand in any way. I chanced tugging it up to cup my cheek, a forest green blush spreading over his cheeks, but he allowed the action and brushed his thumb gently over my cheek once his hand was in place.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Don."

He huffed a small laugh and averted his eyes, a series of emotions tumbling out of him before he could really process any of them fully. "It's fine, I mean... You just... I was a little scared, or maybe a lot scared. And you really shouldn't have even been in that position. I can't understand why you would have done that. You just... you ran and I was so focused on Master Splinter I didn't see until it was too late. _WHY_ did you do that? You got yourself _killed_! You could have _WARNED_ me! I could have _protected_ you! But I _didn't,_ and then you were on the floor and there was so much blood everywhere and you were cold and you barely had a pulse. I **hated** having to decide to leave you until after I could fix Splinter. I didn't want to. I wanted to work on you first and make sure that I could save you. But Sensei... How do you choose between... You both were dying... I'm so sorry... I should have _never_ let you come."

The few tears that fell from his eyes were absorbed by the dirty, bloody fabric of his mask and his chin dropped while he struggled with his composure. My free hand found his cheek and he leaned into it desperately, clutching the cold appendage like a lifeline. "Donatello, I'm proud of you for choosing your father first. Family always comes first, friends second. No matter what. It's not an easy decision to make but it's one that I will never be angry with you for making. You did the right thing."

He choked a little, trying to laugh but couldn't quite manage it. "You _**are**_ family."

"You know what I mean." I chastised softly, rolling my eyes at him even though he couldn't see it. "And I couldn't have warned you Dee, that would have warned Shredder. I am sorry that I scared you but I'm not sorry for doing what I had to do to make sure Shredder died today, even though it meant I died for a few minutes too. The world can live without me in it, but it can't live without you and your brothers. Without you the whole universe falls into chaos and ruin. This universe, all TMNT universes, are build around you and your family. Without you the whole system falls apart and fades away."

His big, watery eyes lifted to meet mine again, considering my words carefully and choosing to keep some back while letting some others spill out. "Is that why you're still here? Because we're still in danger of dying?"

Finally, after so much heaviness, my lips lifted into a smile and I let my eyes close. "Yes and no. When I died I got to meet the being that sent me here originally and we talked for a little while. One of my jobs, yes, is to help keep this universe in balance. A lynchpin, in a way. But I have other responsibilities here that are going to be just as important too."

My eyes opened and met Donnie's, the seriousness returning and my voice quieted to match it. "We both know what's going to happen to Splinter eventually." There was a stretch of silence so that he could absorb the meaning behind those words and his eyes dropped sadly with a nod of morose understanding. "I don't know when, I don't know how, maybe it will be because of his injuries today and maybe not, but we know he won't live forever. That's going to be a very difficult time for this family. Things are coming that involve Leonardo that are going to be difficult for the family and Karai is still out there. She will attack again and she won't stop attacking until she herself is stopped. The Being said so himself: the road ahead is long and dangerous."

The echoing silence that stretched between us after that was long enough that my eyes began to droop heavily. Eventually, though, Donatello moved to straighten up just a little and I perked up enough to catch the little ray of hope that glittered behind his glasses. "But... that means that you'll be here? The whole time? For everything?"

I smiled sleepily up at him and nodded, stifling a yawn and wincing at the stab of pain the action brought on. "Yep. I'll be here as long as you want me around."

He grinned sheepishly again and averted his eyes for just a moment. "You might be here for forever then."

The stitch in my side made breathing difficult but the moment was just too perfect. It was pitched right to me and I couldn't help but take the shot. I sucked in a painful breath and, despite my raspy and strained voice that was thick with exhaustion and dehydration, sang a line by Clean Bandit.

"When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be." He giggled nervously and I grinned sleepily at him, my eyes slipping closed on their own. "Ok Don-Don, I'm gonna go nite-nite now. I'm passing out as it is an' I dun' wanna be rude."

"Oh!" He responded in surprise, or rather remembrance of my condition, and finally shifted out of my grip that I had on him. He lay my arms down carefully, attentively, over the thin blanket that was covering my half-naked body and went to turn the lights out. The darkness, for me, had already fallen though. And exhaustion dragged me down into slumber.

...

..

.

-click-

The light clicked off easily, dowsing the room in darkness. It wasn't a big problem for me, however, as I'd walked it in the pitch black of the concrete cave many times. The quiet shuffling of my feet announced my movement from the switch over to the cot where Aaliyah was laying and carefully I crouched as I approached to make sure that I didn't bump into the make-shift medical area.

"There, now you should be able to sleep undisturbed. If it's too dark, however, I can find a small light to leave on."

…

"Aaliyah?"

…

Nothing. I huffed a chuckle and shook my head at both her as well as at myself. "Good night Aaliyah." I should have remembered that with as intensive as her blood loss was I was lucky... we... we were lucky that she was even able to regain consciousness today. She'd been exhausted enough that likely as soon as her eyes had closed she'd fallen asleep. However, her state of unresponsiveness wasn't quite motivation enough for me to leave the area just yet. There was something intensely soothing about listening to her quiet, even breaths that I didn't want to leave just yet. It meant she was alive, a blessing that had almost been stolen from us. It wasn't one to be taken lightly or to be taken for granted.

What did I, what did any of us, do to deserve being given someone who was not only accepting of us but loved us and cared about us enough that she would so readily die to protect us? I wasn't sure I would ever have an answer for that question. But I was sure that I was going to make sure I didn't waste what time we did have now that I knew the very real terror of the possibility that I might never have the opportunity to say what I wanted so badly to say.

There was a small knock on the lab door, the only door in the whole living space for safety reasons, and I smirked at the sound. They'd been waiting outside. I'd have to thank them for that sometime either tonight or tomorrow. But before I stood up fully to go retrieve the blankets that Michelangelo (or maybe Raphael) had gathered I brushed a bloody knuckle (oh right, I probably should wash up properly before going to bed as well...) over her forearm and murmured my own terrible, tone-deaf response to her clever song use just moments ago.

"If you gave me a chance I would take it  
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it  
Know with all of your heart, you can't shake me  
When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be."


	20. Recovery

**The attempted smut was garbage, the muses were fighting it, and so it became painful to try to finish writing this chapter. Eventually I decided that forcing smut was ridiculous so tada: a smutless fluff chapter because apparently that is all Donnie is capable of when he is being mother goose. Why Donnie. Why you do this to me. All I wanted was smut from you and you have to play me like this. Dang you. Mark my words I will make you sin in the next book of this saga I swear on my pb&amp;j**

* * *

**Day one:**

In order to best track the healing progress of both Aaliyah and Sensei I've decided to record their progress here for future reference. With Sensei's age and Aaliyah's difference in species it's important to have reference material to look back to in case we have to go through another incident like this.

Splinter has deep tissue bruising on his left shoulder, left side of his rib cage, and right thigh as well as internal bleeding. One deep laceration on his left shoulder. Estimated blood loss: unknown.

Aaliyah has three deep lacerations in her torso on the right side, estimated blood loss: three pints. Time of death: 2:37 A.M. Time of revival: 2:39 A.M.

_ Donatello had to take a moment to calm his shaking hands before he could continue, the panic from those seemingly unending two minutes still not quite out of his system just yet. Aaliyah had died. He'd let her die. He'd chosen to work on Sensei first and Aaliyah had died because of it. True he'd been able to revive her but the weight of that reality was not going to leave him anytime soon. Not while she still looked so pale and fragile. Not while her veins stood out in dark contrast against her skin and her breathing was so shallow he had to touch his cheek to her chin to be able to hear it._

_ But his hands were shaking so badly and his throat tightened up enough that he decided to abandon the computer to go check on her again. He could go back to that later. Right now he needed to feel her fluttering pulse beneath his fingers for the fourth time that morning just to make sure that she wasn't in danger of leaving him - them - again so soon._

**Day two:**

Aaliyah and Splinter both hooked up to IV lines. Mostly unconscious with occasional minutes of consciousness. Lucidity rare with as much pain as they're in. Casey stopped by. Mikey had to regale him with all of the mostly accurate details. Raph grumbled but generally was in better spirits with his best friend present. Casey was upset we didn't take him along. Was not present for most of the conversation but could hear bits and pieces from Sensei's room and from my lab. Leo has taken up vigil by dad, partially to help but also with ulterior motives. Note to self: watch out for Leonardo's increasing moodiness. Check for internal damage or concussion. Ask Casey for help procuring pain medications.

**Day three:**

No improvement. Maintaining unconsciousness, which might be better considering their pain levels have not diminished. A broken arm and widespread bruising makes for less-than-ideal conditions for leaving the lair to get what we need, and that isn't considering the way Leo snaps when the idea is mentioned. No internal damage discovered during brief examination. Concussion unlikely. Explanation for current surly attitude: unknown.

**Day four:**

No improvement. Leo's being an even bigger ass than Raphael who is actually being relatively subdued considering his usual temperament. Mikey hasn't smiled in four days. Aaliyah's and Splinter's cots moved out into the main area of the lair today. We're all sleeping there anyways, at least for now. Might as well have them nearby where everyone can keep an eye on her.

**Day five:**

No improvement.

What am I doing wrong? I've done all I can. What did I miss?

**Day six:**

No improvement. Both Aaliyah and Sensei are declining in body mass. They are still mostly unconscious and can't begin to consider stomaching anything, meaning that the necessary caloric requirements for the cellular repairs their bodies are undergoing are coming from their fat reserves (what little they had to begin with) and muscle mass. I need them to eat. Broth, bread, rice, anything. I don't have the materials I need to insert a feeding tube into either of them and without training it seems unnecessarily risky but what else can I do? I might do more harm than good but I've tried everything else. And pressure from the brothers to fix them and make them better like they were motorcycles or toasters that I could take apart and put back together is mounting. Leo especially has been impatient with the lack of improvement. But I've done everything, anything I could do so far. What am I missing? What am I doing wrong?

**Day seven:**

Aaliyah drank a total of one cup of broth throughout the day. Sensei consumed five tablespoons. I consider that to be a mark of improvement but it's far slower than any of us would like. Mikey has been growing moody seeing Aaliyah and Splinter in such poor shape. Neither of them are awake long enough for him to tell jokes to in order to make them smile. Raphael has been surprisingly mature with him and supporting his emotional state. Casey came over, which improved the somber atmosphere here considerably. My broken arm is about halfway healed, as is Michelangelo's cracked shell and Raphael's lacerations. Leonardo won't allow me to check on his condition but judging from what I can see his healing is taking a little longer than usual. Possibly due to his lack of sleep and calories while he sits by Splinter day and night. I think maybe Leonardo walked away from that battle with deeper wounds than I know how to suture.

**Day eigh**hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Fell asleep on th computer. Too tired to deleette the leters above. Minimal improvment for boht Spinlter an d Aalihay. Leo's na ass.

**Day 10:**

Aaliyah is continuing to stay awake for longer periods of time than Splinter but both are starting to stay awake long enough to be talked into drinking more broth. Aaliyah's cheeks are sunken, body mass seems to be decreasing at a rate of about .7% per day though I can't say for sure without being able to weigh her. Condition still too fragile to move. Simply guessing by how paper thin she looks. Splinter seems to be looking about the same percentage of his body mass per day. Fur falling out in a few places. Nose dry, increased the flow rate of his IV drip. No fever, which is a positive sign of future improvement.

**Day 14:**

Both patients finally able to eat semi solids. Aaliyah acts a lot stronger than she is which is both endearing and heartbreaking. She threatened me today that she was going to get herself out of her cot and make me sleep, since apparently I look about as good as she feels. If that's any indication of her condition I might have to consider reevaluating how much improvement she's actually made. Though she was awake long enough to pass along some helpful information. Her body is not very good at replenishing its blood supply, though her tissues in general are supposedly usually pretty fast at repairing themselves compared to other humans. To illustrate her point she shared with me her experience with childbirth.

"It worked out ok when I gave birth since the babe screamed bloody murder any time I dared try to put her down in her crib by herself." She told me today, "She and I basically just ate and slept together on my bed for the first six weeks of her life, only difference this time is that it doesn't sting like a beeyotch every time I have to pee. I took iron pills and supposedly that helped but mostly after ripping so badly and needing 17 stitches for it I was just too damn weak to do anything but stay in bed for 6 weeks."

Note to self: iron supplements. As soon as Leo will let me out of the damn lair.

**Day 18:**

The addition of Iron supplements seems to be improving both Sensei and Aaliyah's conditions. Michelangelo's mood has dramatically improved now that his captive audiences are awake long enough to enjoy his particular brand of entertainment. Leo's mood has dramatically fouled since the four brothers are now healed enough to leave the lair. Raphael has started to call Leo out on his crap... Not sure how I feel about this new family dynamic.

**Day 21:**

Aaliyah kissed me today. She was mad that I've allowed my own health to take a back seat position to her improvement and Sensei's improvement. Also she laid into Leonardo for snapping at me in her presence for something unnecessary. He was quiet for the rest of the day.

**Day 36:**

Aaliyah can stand on her own for short periods of time by now though she quickly becomes dizzy and the pain from her injuries is still beyond what is functional. Day three of solid foods seems to be going well. Sensei is still not ready for solid foods as well as still being too weak to stand. Fur beginning to grow back in the bald patches however, I noticed some small wiry strands poking through his skin today while feeding him.

**Day 43:**

It appears that Aaliyah will have the scars on her abdomen from the battle with Shredder for the rest of her life. It's not a huge surprise but the scarring is taking on the characteristic shine and bulge of a lasting deep-tissue scar. It's more difficult to tell with Splinter now that his fur is growing back nicely but if you search for the injury site the scarring itself is hairless. Leonardo is continuing to over exert himself now that we have returned to training and Sensei can oversee us. Aaliyah was right. Something is coming. Leonardo keeps becoming more and more high strung. I'm not sure when the tension will snap but the stress is palpable. We've tried talking to him about it and somehow it seems to only make things worse. He's starting to become unbearable, which is putting undue strain on Sensei and everyone else in this household. I worry about the adverse affects this stress will have on Splinter's slow recovery.

Aaliyah's physical therapy is going well. She's up to 65% functionality by now, weight recovery is slower than what I'd like to see. She keeps joking about how much more slender she is now and who knew that all you needed to loose that excess belly fat was a near-fatal injury but she is aware that it's more than just fat reserves that have been depleted. It's just that she seems to feel that maybe if she watches her diet carefully enough she can possibly keep that subcutaneous fat layer off and only build lean muscle mass. I have told her 28 times that isn't how it works but the feeling persists. New strategy to attempt next: tell her that she would be no less beautiful even with an excess of subcutaneous fat in the hopes that dissuading her self consciousness about her body might allow her to continue regaining body mass.

**Day 64:**

Aaliyah and Sensei both have healed fully from The Battle.

Leo has not.

Leonardo struck Sensei today in a fit of frustration.

He's being sent away to South America for one year.

Aaliyah is going too.

Day one of Sensei's recovery from this event begins today with suturing the wound site closed and applying antibacterial gel to the affected area. Wound bandaged to prevent infection.

Day one of my own recovery from this event will begin in two days.

... What did I do wrong?

* * *

~END KISMET~

* * *

**Please go check out the continuation of this story called Letters From Home that picks up where Kismet leaves off and takes you on a whole new adventure with Aaliyah, Leonardo, and the whole gang as they go through some growing pains and try to help each other in the aftermath of this battle with The Shredder. New adventures, new enemies, and FINALLY SOME ACTION between Donatello and Aaliyah! Don't miss it! The stories have only just begun!**


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